Chile Molido Grilled Shrimp

1-2 tbsp New Mexico Chile Molido*
30-40 shrimp*
7 cloves minced garlic
4 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt
cilantro
skewers for grill
If you are using wooden skewers 
soak in water at least 20 minutes prior to grilling.

Blot dry the shrimp with a paper towel and place in a gallon size Ziplock bag. Add garlic, New Mexico Chile Molido and olive oil. Close bag and remove air. Massage gently until all shrimp are coated (be careful shrimp tails can poke your hands.) Let marinade at least 45min and up to an 1hour and a half.

Using two skewers (see photo for how to), skewer 5 shrimp and repeat till all are skewered. Right before the shrimp go on the grill spinkle with salt. Grill for about 2-3 minutes each side (the time depends on your grill or the heat of the coals.)

Serve immediately.
These are amazing by themselves or in tacos.

*The brand I use is Julias spices.
*Since I am in landlocked Utah I have a hard time finding really good fresh shrimp. So when I can't find good fresh, I use the Kirkland brand frozen raw. If you are using frozen raw make sure to properly thaw them overnight in the fridge, force thawing them will make them though.

When grilling I highly recommend using charcoal (non-matchlight) with a charcoal chimney. The charcoal chimney allows you to get the coals piping hot with out any lighter fluid or gas. Lighter fluid and gas tend to lend their flavor to food, and I am not a fan.

Recipe courtesy Meikel Reece
Photo courtesy Meikel Reece

Grilled Asparagus

fresh asparagus
kosher salt
ground pepper
olive oil
ice

I have purposely left out quantities because you can either make enough to feed an army or just for you and yours.

Fill a large bowl with very cold ice water.

In a large pot bring to a boil enough water to cover the amount of aspargus you are using. When water is at a rolling boil add a pinch of salt and asparagus. Let blanch for 2 minutes, pull out and immediately put asparagus in the ice water. Leave in ice water about 2-5 minutes until cold.

Dry asparagus and drissle olive oil over asparagus, just before grilling add salt and pepper.

Grill asparagus for 3-5 minutes depending on the size of asparagus.

Serve immediately
Recipe courtesy Meikel Reece
Photo courtesy Meikel Reece

Lemon Bars

I love me some lemon bars and this recipe is my very favorite. Bless you Ina Garten, these are sublime (or sublemon yes, I went there.)

For the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into squares and dust with confectioners' sugar.

Recipe courtesy Ina Garten
Photo courtesy Meikel Reece

Fresh Pea & Feta Salad

2 large handfuls baby spinach
2 large handfuls arugula
2 large handfuls frizee
Substitute for above greens:
You can use a ready made spring mix
2 smaller handfuls fresh peas
2 smaller handfuls cherry or grape tomatoes in halves
olive oil
lemon, juice
crumbled feta cheese

Spin dry (unless it is ready to eat and already dry), and add to a salad bowl with 2 smaller handfuls of fresh peas (unless you are lucky enough to get young peas which are sweet and tender, you should blanch the peas in boiling, unsalted water and leave to cool). Add to bowl. Add tomatoes.

Dress the salad at the last minute with olive oil and lemon juice dressing and sprinkle crumbled feta cheese over the top.


This is my version of Jamie Olivers Recipe

Creamy Potato Gratin

4 1/2 pounds all-purpose potatoes
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 onion, peeled
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt
Approximately 1/4 cup unsalted butter
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices, neither especially thin nor especially thick (approximately 1/2-inch) and put them into a large saucepan with the milk, cream, onion, minced garlic and salt. Bring to the boil and cook at a robust simmer or gentle boil (however you like to think of it) until verging on tender, but not dissolving into mush. The pan might be hell to clean afterward, but any excuse for long, lazy soaking rather than brisk pre-or postprandial scrubbing always appeals to me. And, for what it's worth, I find that when pans are really, dauntingly, stuck with cooked-on gunge, it's more effective to soak them in hot water and detergent (i.e., the stuff you put in the washing machine, though I haven't tried, and don't think I would, with tablets) rather than dish liquid.
Use some of the butter to grease a large roasting pan (15 by 12-inches) and then pour the almost sludgy milk and potato mixture into it. Dot with remaining butter and cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until the potato is bubbly and browned on top. Remove, let stand for 10 to 20 minutes and then serve.
This is not the most labor saving way of cooking potatoes, to be sure, but one of the most seductive. And it reheats well as an accompaniment to cold roast pork, or indeed anything in the days that follow.

Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson
Photo courtesy The Wandering Chefs

Sauteed Green Beans

 1 1/2 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Diagonally halve the beans crosswise. Blanch beans in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain beans in a colander and transfer to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain well.
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then

sautee beans, stirring, until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

To make rediculously tasty add 1 tablespoon butter (or more) just before serving.

Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine

Photo courtesy heathy sprouts

Creme Brulee

2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
8 egg yolks
3 generous tablespoons granulated sugar
Approximately 6 tablespoons Demerara or granulated brown sugar
Put a pie dish of about 8-inches in diameter in the freezer for at least 20 minutes. Half-fill the sink with cold water. This is just a precaution in case the custard looks as if it's about to split, in which case you should plunge the pan into the water and whisk the custard. I'm not saying it will - with so many egg yolks in the rich cream, it thickens quickly and easily enough - but I always feel better if I've done this.
Put the cream and vanilla bean into a saucepan and bring to the boiling point, but do not let boil. Beat the eggs and sugar together in a bowl, and, still beating, pour the flavored cream over it, bean and all. Rinse and dry the pan and pour the custard mix back in. Cook over medium heat (or low, if you're scared) until the custard thickens, whisking almost constantly: about 10 to 12 minutes should do it. You do not want this to be a good, voluptuous creme, so don't err on the side of runny caution. Remember, you've got your sinkful of cold water to plunge the pan into should it really look as if it's about to split.

When the cream's thick enough, take out the vanilla bean, retrieve the pie dish and pour the creme into the severely chilled container. Leave to cool, then put in the refrigerator until truly cold. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar, spoonful by spoonful, and burn with a blowtorch until you have a blistered tortoiseshell covering on top.
Put back in the refrigerator if you want, but remember to take it out a good 20 minutes before serving. At which stage, put the bowl on the table and, with a large spoon and unchecked greed, crack through the sugary carapace and delve into the satin-velvet, vanilla-speckled cream beneath. No more talking: just eat.

Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson
Photo courtsey saveafewbob.ie

Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy

2 whole chickens (about 3 1/2 lb each)
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, divided
6 large garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 lemons, halved
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups water
kitchen string
For roast chicken:
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.

Pull off excess fat around cavities of chickens and discard, then rinse chickens and pat dry. Melt 4 Tbsp butter with garlic and brush butter all over chickens. Season both chickens inside and out with 2 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper (total). Put half of garlic and 1 lemon half in each cavity and loosely tie legs together with string. Roast chickens in a large (17- by 11-inch) flameproof roasting pan, basting with pan juices using a spoon (remove pan from oven and tilt if necessary) every 20 minutes, rotating pan, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh of each chicken (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, 50 to 60 minutes total. Baste chickens once more, then carefully tilt them so juices from cavities run into roasting pan. Transfer chickens to a cutting board (reserve pan) and let rest 15 minutes before carving.
Make gravy while chickens rest:
Pour off all but 2 Tbsp fat from pan, then cook remaining drippings over medium-high heat until deep golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in water and simmer, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in remaining 4 Tbsp butter and lemon juice to taste (from remaining lemon halves). Season with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a gravy boat.

If desired, you can also add herbs such as thyme or rosemary to cavities before roasting.
Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine, Image courtesy Romulo Yanes

Brazillian Lemonade

The quick & dirty version

2 bottles Simply Limeaid
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 sliced limes for serving
1 bag crushed ice

In a large bowl (or pitcher if you have one big enough) pour about a cup of the Limeaid in then pour in the sweetened condensed milk. Pour in the rest of the Limeaid, mix well.

Fill desired glasses to the brim with ice, pour Brazilian lemonade over top with lime and serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy Meikel Reece
Photo courtesy Meikel Reece

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Recipe Courtesy Santacafe
Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (7 ounces)
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
8 ounces fine-quality white chocolate
4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 whole large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups fresh raspberries (11 ounces)
Garnish: Fresh raspberries, mint sprigs

Directions
Make crust: Finely grind almonds and crumbs in a food processor and add butter, blending until combined. Press over bottom and 2/3 up side of a 10-inch springform pan.
Make filling: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth, and remove from heat.
Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy, then beat in sugar. Add whole eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, beating well at low speed and scraping down bowl after each addition.
Beat in flour and vanilla until just combined, then add melted chocolate in a slow stream, beating until filling is well combined.
Arrange berries in 1 layer over crust and pour filling into crust. Bake in middle of oven until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still wobbly when pan is gently shaken, 45 to 55 minutes.
Run a thin knife around edge of cake to loosen, then cool completely in pan on a rack. (Cake will continue to set as it cools.) Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Cooks' note: Cheesecake can be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered

Lime & Salt Rice

2 C brown rice (short grain)
Zest of 2 limes
Juice of 2 limes
6 cups water
1 bunch cilantro
Kosher Salt

In the pot, add zest, juice then rice. Cover with water and set to medium heat. Allow the rice to cook until there are holes in the rice and all of the water is gone. Remove from heat and cover until tender (10-15 min.)

Chop cilantro. Fluff the rice with a fork, add salt to taste. Fold in cilantro and serve.

Obviously you can make this as limey or salty as you like, just add more lime zest, juice and more salt. You could also use white rice, I prefer the nutty-ness of brown rice.

Recipe courtesy Meikel Reece
Photo courtesy Meikel Reece

Coke Pulled Pork

A little disclaimer, I don’t really use measurements So these are my guesstimates. Also, I usually buy the size of pork butt that will fit in my crock pot.

6 lbs Pork Butt (shoulder)
Coca Cola (no substitutes will do, ie diet or no name brand)
½ C Brown Sugar
2 tsp cumin

Place pork butt whole into the crock pot. Add brown sugar and cumin, cover with coke. Put the lid on and set to low, leave to cook 12 hours.

Gently pull apart with two forks, handle the meat as little as possible. Serve.

Recipe courtesy Meikel Reece
Photo courtesy Meikel Reece

Go to Sweet Paul to get this Honey Baked Ricotta Recipe for your sweetie pie. I just made this for the first time and we absolutely love it! Make sure you get really good bread, and we used raspberry's blackberries and strawberries. For me the perfect start to any day and especially Valentines day!

Photo taken by Ellen Silverman via Sweet Paul

Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy
In an uncertain world, everybody needs a truly excellent recipe for roast chicken, one that will never, ever fail you. This is it.

2 whole chickens (about 3 1/2 lb each)
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, divided
6 large garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 lemons, halved
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups water

kitchen string

For roast chicken:

Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.

Pull off excess fat around cavities of chickens and discard, then rinse chickens and pat dry. Melt 4 Tbsp butter with garlic and brush butter all over chickens. Season both chickens inside and out with 2 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper (total). Put half of garlic and 1 lemon half in each cavity and loosely tie legs together with string. Roast chickens in a large (17- by 11-inch) flameproof roasting pan, basting with pan juices using a spoon (remove pan from oven and tilt if necessary) every 20 minutes, rotating pan, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into fleshy part of a thigh of each chicken (do not touch bone) registers 170°F, 50 to 60 minutes total. Baste chickens once more, then carefully tilt them so juices from cavities run into roasting pan. Transfer chickens to a cutting board (reserve pan) and let rest 15 minutes before carving.

Make gravy while chickens rest:

Pour off all but 2 Tbsp fat from pan, then cook remaining drippings over medium-high heat until deep golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in water and simmer, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in remaining 4 Tbsp butter and lemon juice to taste (from remaining lemon halves). Season with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a gravy boat.

If desired, you can also add herbs such as thyme or rosemary to cavities before roasting.

Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine, Image courtesy Romulo Yanes

 

Creamy Potato Gratin

4 1/2 pounds all-purpose potatoes
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 onion, peeled
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt
Approximately 1/4 cup unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into slices, neither especially thin nor especially thick (approximately 1/2-inch) and put them into a large saucepan with the milk, cream, onion, minced garlic and salt. Bring to the boil and cook at a robust simmer or gentle boil (however you like to think of it) until verging on tender, but not dissolving into mush. The pan might be hell to clean afterward, but any excuse for long, lazy soaking rather than brisk pre-or postprandial scrubbing always appeals to me. And, for what it's worth, I find that when pans are really, dauntingly, stuck with cooked-on gunge, it's more effective to soak them in hot water and detergent (i.e., the stuff you put in the washing machine, though I haven't tried, and don't think I would, with tablets) rather than dish liquid.

Use some of the butter to grease a large roasting pan (15 by 12-inches) and then pour the almost sludgy milk and potato mixture into it. Dot with remaining butter and cook in the oven for 15 minutes or until the potato is bubbly and browned on top. Remove, let stand for 10 to 20 minutes and then serve.

This is not the most labor saving way of cooking potatoes, to be sure, but one of the most seductive. And it reheats well as an accompaniment to cold roast pork, or indeed anything in the days that follow.

Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson

Sauteed Green Beans

1 1/2 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Diagonally halve the beans crosswise. Blanch beans in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain beans in a colander and transfer to a bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain well.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then

sautee beans, stirring, until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
 

Creme Brulee

2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
8 egg yolks
3 generous tablespoons granulated sugar
Approximately 6 tablespoons Demerara or granulated brown sugar

Put a pie dish of about 8-inches in diameter in the freezer for at least 20 minutes. Half-fill the sink with cold water. This is just a precaution in case the custard looks as if it's about to split, in which case you should plunge the pan into the water and whisk the custard. I'm not saying it will - with so many egg yolks in the rich cream, it thickens quickly and easily enough - but I always feel better if I've done this.
Put the cream and vanilla bean into a saucepan and bring to the boiling point, but do not let boil. Beat the eggs and sugar together in a bowl, and, still beating, pour the flavored cream over it, bean and all. Rinse and dry the pan and pour the custard mix back in. Cook over medium heat (or low, if you're scared) until the custard thickens, whisking almost constantly: about 10 to 12 minutes should do it. You do not want this to be a good, voluptuous creme, so don't err on the side of runny caution. Remember, you've got your sinkful of cold water to plunge the pan into should it really look as if it's about to split.

When the cream's thick enough, take out the vanilla bean, retrieve the pie dish and pour the creme into the severely chilled container. Leave to cool, then put in the refrigerator until truly cold. Sprinkle with Demerara sugar, spoonful by spoonful, and burn with a blowtorch until you have a blistered tortoiseshell covering on top.
Put back in the refrigerator if you want, but remember to take it out a good 20 minutes before serving. At which stage, put the bowl on the table and, with a large spoon and unchecked greed, crack through the sugary carapace and delve into the satin-velvet, vanilla-speckled cream beneath. No more talking: just eat.

Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson

Peach-Lacquered Chicken Wings

3 garlic cloves
1 (3-inch) piece peeled ginger, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup peach or apricot preserves or jam
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes
4 lb chicken wings, tips removed if desired

Preheat broiler. (We love these on the grill as well, just make sure your grill is nice & hot.)
With motor running, drop garlic into a food processor and finely chop. Add ginger and finely chop.
Add preserves, soy sauce, water, and red-pepper flakes and pulse until sauce is combined.
Line bottom and sides of a large 4-sided sheet pan with foil and lightly oil foil.
Pat wings dry and put in sheet pan. Season with 3/4 tsp salt. Pour sauce over wings and toss to coat, then spread in 1 layer.
Broil wings 4 to 6 inches from heat 5 minutes, then turn over and baste with sauce from pan. Continue to broil, rotating pan and turning and basting 3 more times, until chicken is cooked through and browned in spots, 20 to 25 minutes.

Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine, Image courtesy Romulo Yanes

my aunt's delightful cookies

These are pretty much the best things ever. My Aunt Becky's cookies made by her lovely granddaughters, Aspen & Jessica. See more of 4th of July pics at REECE.

homemade ketchup

I can't think of a better weekend to try homemade ketchup.
Have a very happy 4th!

MAKES ABOUT2 3/4 CUPS
ACTIVE TIME:20 MIN START TO FINISH:3 HR (INCLUDES COOLING)
1 (28- to 32-oz) can whole tomatoes in juice
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar

Purée tomatoes with juice in a blender until smooth.
Cook onion and garlic in oil with 1/4 tsp salt in a 4-qt heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Add spices and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute. Add tomato purée, tomato paste, brown sugar, and vinegar and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until very thick, 45 to 55 minutes (stir more frequently toward end of cooking to prevent scorching).
Purée ketchup in blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Chill at least 2 hours (for flavors to develop).
COOKS’ NOTE: Ketchup keeps, chilled, 1 month.

recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine
image courtesy Romulo Yanes

Bruschetta

Recipe courtesy Goop
image courtesy Goop
2 loaves of fresh pane pugliese (or your favorite country-style bread), cut into 3/4" thick slices
3 large garlic cloves, cut in half
good olive oil
coarse salt
Grill the bread over a medium flame for about a minute on each side or until toasted and just barely charred at spots. Rub both sides of the bread with the cut side of the garlic. Drizzle one side generously with olive oil (at least a tablespoon and a half per slice). Sprinkle with coarse salt and serve.

Italian Lemonade

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

image courtesy google imaging

Ingredients
2 cups lemon juice, about 12 to 15 lemons
2 cups Basil Simple Syrup, recipe follows
2 cups cold or sparkling water
Ice
Lemon twists, for garnish
crushed raspberries if you wish

Directions:
Mix lemon juice, Basil Simple Syrup, and water together in a pitcher. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Pour over ice filled glasses and garnish with a lemon twist.

Basil Simple Syrup:
1 bunch fresh basil, washed and stemmed
2 cups sugar
1 cup water

In a saucepan combine basil, sugar, and water and simmer until the sugar is dissolved, 5 minutes. Cool, strain the simple syrup, and store in the refrigerator.

Hands-Free Raspberry Jam

Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson

1 C or 1/2 pint raspberries
1 C sugar

1 8oz jar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Put the raspberries and sugar into two separate bowls; I use pie plates, so the fruit will be spread out rather than piled up. Put the bowls into the oven for 20-25 minutes until they are really hot. Take them out of the oven carefully, and add the sugar to the raspberries. As you do so you'll find the fruit turns into a molten, ruby-red river. Pour this into the cleaned and waiting jar. Fasten it, and leave to cool before storing in the fridge. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Recipe & photo v. How To Be A Domestic Goddess. Photographer Petrina Tinslay

Buttermilk Fantails

Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine

1 stick plus 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, divided
2 tsp active dry yeast (from a 1/4oz package)
1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F)
1 Tbsp mild honey or sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting
11/2 tsp salt
3/4 c well shaken buttermilk

a muffin pan with 12 cups

Butter muffin cups with 1 Tbsp melted butter.
Stir together yeast, warm water, and honey in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast.)
Mix flour, salt, buttermilk, and 6 Tbsp melted butter into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms. Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and knead, dusting surface and your hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.
Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Punch down dough (do not knead), then halve. Roll out half of dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch square (about 1/8 inch thick; keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap). Brush dough with 1/2 Tbsp butter and cut into 6 equal strips. Stack strips, buttered sides up, and cut crosswise into 6 equal pieces. Turn each piece on a side and put into a muffin cup. Make more rolls with remaining dough in same manner. Separate outer layers of each roll to fan outward. Cover rolls with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled and dough fills cups, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Bake rolls until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Brush tops with remaining 2 Tbsp butter, then transfer rolls to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.

Cooks’ note: Rolls are best the day they’re made but can be frozen (cool completely, then wrap well) 1 month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.

Recipe & photo v. Gourmet Magazine. Photographer Romulo Yanes

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Chocolate Fudge Cake
Recipe courtesy Nigella Lawson
My changes & additions in italics.

For the cake:
2 2/3 C All Purpose Flour (sifted)
3/4 C plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/3 c light brown sugar
1/4 c best quality cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1/2 c plus two tablespoons sour cream
you can substitute applesauce, I think it is better.
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 C unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 vegetable oil
1 1/3 C chilled water

For the fudge icing:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids
1 C plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
1 3/4 C confectioners sugar sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter or spray and flour two 8 in cake pans.
In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl whisk together eggs, sour cream (or applesauce) and vanilla until blended. Using a standing or hand-held mixer; beat together the the melted butter and vegetable oil until just blended, then beat in the water. Add the dry ingredients all at once and mix together on a slow speed. Add the egg mixture, and mix again until everything is blended and then pour into the prepared tins.

Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake-tester comes out clean. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes,and then turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, melt the chocolate in the microwave, 2-3 minutes on medium should do it. In another bowl beat the butter until it's soft and creamy. Add the sifted confectioners sugar and beat again until everything is light and fluffy. Gently add the vanilla and chocolate and mix together until everything is glossy and smooth. Sandwich the middle of the cake with about a quarter of the icing, and then ice the top and sides as well.
Serves 10, or 1 with a broken heart.

Recipe & photo v. Nigella Bites. Photographer Francesca Yorke

For more recipes visit NOSH

Mustard Roast Beef

Mustard Roast Beef
Recipe courtesy Donna Hay
My changes & additions in italics.

2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1/4 C olive oil, plus one tablespoon extra
4 lb boneless beef rib eye
or just a really beautiful roast.
1/4-1/2 C Dijon mustard depending on taste
1 stick room temperature butter
kitchen string

Remember to take the beef out of the fridge at least 10 minutes before you sear it or put it in the oven, this will ensure even cooking.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place the mustard seeds, salt, pepper and thyme in a mortar and pestle and pound until lightly crushed. Add the oil and pound until combined. In a separate bowl combine butter and Dijon mustard until completely integrated. Combine spice mixture and mustard mixture, set aside.
Brush the beef with the extra oil. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over high and cook the beef for 1-2 minutes each side or until brown. remove from the pan. Secure with kitchen string and rub the mustard mixture over the beef. Place on a rack in a baking dish and roast for 1 1/2 hours for medium rare (I use a meat thermometer, and remember that the meat continues to cook after you remove it from the oven.) Serves 4-6 After roasting, cover the meat with foil and rest in a warm place for at least 10 minutes to allow the meat to relax.
I always make a sauce from the pan drippings. Simply put the roasting pan on to your stove top and on medium high heat, add either beef broth or red wine and reduce down a bit and you will have a beautiful sauce to accompany your beef.

Recipe & photo v. Donna Hay Magazine issue 39. Photographer Chris Court
*Donna Hay's recipe measurements have been converted from the metric system.

Sweet Potato Oven Fries

Sweet Potato Oven Fries
Recipe courtesy Meikel Reece
3 images courtesy Google Images

4 Yams or Sweet Potatoes (there is a difference, see here.)
I generally do a potato for each person I want to serve.
Sea Salt
Fresh Ground pepper
Ceyanne Pepper (optional)
Olive oil

For the Fry Sauce:
Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce
Ketchup
Mayonnaise (I use Veganaise.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel yams and cut into 1/2 inch fries or wedges which ever you prefer. Put on cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil until well coated (not dripping just gleaming really) and sprinkle with pepper (not salt, it will pull out the water and make the fries soggy). Place in oven for 20-35 minutes depending on the oven.

In a separate bowl combine equal parts Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce, ketchup & mayonnaise combine and set aside.

Test your fries, they should be fork tender. Turn your oven to broil and watch until golden brown. Immediately salt and serve with your fry sauce.

Double-Coconut Cake

Double-Coconut Cake
Recipe courtesy Cooking Light 2001
3 images courtesy Google Images

I usually insist on making my cakes from scratch, but I almost think this one is better if you use a box mix. There is something about the lightness that comes from a white cake box mix. Just add 1 tbsp coconut extract to your cake mix and split into two nine-inch rounds. I also prefer less coconut on the finished cake and then I serve with a bowl of shredded coconut on the side. I also really like unsweetened shredded coconut. Enjoy!

1 tablespoon cake flour
2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/3 cup butter -- softened
2 large eggs
1 can light coconut milk -- (14-ounce)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Fluffy Coconut Frosting
2/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes -- divided

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Coat 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon flour.

3. Combine 2-1/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (for about 5 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla.

4. Pour batter into prepared pans. Sharply tap the pans once on countertop to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire racks, and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

5. Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1 cup Fluffy Coconut Frosting. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup coconut. Top with remaining cake layer; spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle 1/3 cup coconut over top of cake. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator. Yield: 14 servings.