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New Year's 2001 made easy with the recipes below.

Smoked Trout Paté

3 whole smoked trout (about 1 1/4 pounds)

One 8-ounce package whipped cream cheese

1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise dressing

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced chives or green onion

chives for garnish

assorted crackers and cucumber slices

1. Cut head and tail from each trout; remove skin and bones and discard. In food processor with knife blade attached, blend trout, cream cheese, mayonnaise dressing, lemon juice, and black pepper until smooth.

2. Spoon trout mixture into medium bowl; stir in minced chives. Cover and refrigerate if not serving right away. Allow refrigerated pâté to stand at room temperature 15 minutes to soften before serving. Garnish with chives. Serve with crackers and cucumber slices.

Pimiento-Studded Deviled Eggs

12 large eggs, hard-cooked and shelled

1/4 cup sliced pimientos, chopped

1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise dressing

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne)

1/4 teaspoon salt

fresh herb sprigs for garnish

1. Slice each egg lengthwise in half. Gently remove yolks and place in small bowl; with fork, finely mash yolks. Stir in pimientos, mayonnaise dressing, mustard, ground red pepper, and salt until well mixed.

2. Place egg-white halves in 15 1/2-inch by 10 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan lined with paper towels (to prevent eggs from rolling). Spoon yolk mixture into egg-white halves. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Hoppin' John

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 medium-size red pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 16-ounce package dry black-eyed peas

1 large smoked ham hock (about 3/4 pound)

2 13 3/4- to- 14 1/2-ounce cans chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups regular long-grain rice

chopped parsley for garnish

1. In 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, heat vegetable oil. Add celery, onion, and red pepper; cook 10 minutes until golden. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes longer.

2. Rinse peas with running cold water and discard any stones or shriveled peas. Add peas, ham hock, chicken broth, crushed red pepper, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt, and 4 cups water to celery mixture; over high heat, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 40 minutes or until peas are tender.

3. Meanwhile, prepare rice as label directs, but use 1 teaspoon salt and do not add margarine or butter.

4. In large bowl, gently mix pea mixture and rice. Serve hot. Garnish with chopped parsley if you like.

Green Beans With Toasted Benne Seeds

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt

4 pounds green beans, ends trimmed

2 tablespoons sesame seeds (benne seeds), toasted

1. Prepare dressing: In small bowl, with wire whisk or fork, mix olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, and salt until blended and slightly thickened.

2. In 8-quart Dutch oven over high heat, in 1 inch boiling water, heat half of green beans to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 to 10 minutes until beans are tender. Remove beans to colander to drain well. Repeat with remaining beans.

3. In large bowl, toss warm beans with dressing; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Toss beans with sesame seeds just before serving.

Three-C-Slaw

1 cup low-fat mayonnaise dressing

1/2 cup Dijon mustard with seeds

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 medium-size head green cabbage (3 pounds), thinly sliced

3 medium-size bulbs celeriac (celeryroot), about 10 ounces each, peeled and finely shredded (See Note)

1 16-ounce bag carrots, peeled and finely shredded

1. In small bowl, with wire whisk or fork, mix mayonnaise dressing, mustard, lemon juice, sugar, vinegar, salt, and pepper.

2. Place cabbage, celeriac, and carrots in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 1/2 hours to allow flavors to blend.

Apple-Ginger Glazed Ham

4-pound fully cooked smoked whole ham

1 cup apple jelly

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Fresh herbs for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove skin and trim some fat from ham, leaving about 1/4" fat covering.

2. Place ham on rack in large roasting pan (17" by 11 1/2"). Insert meat thermometer into center of ham, being careful that pointed end of thermometer does not touch bone. Bake ham 2 1/2 hours.

3. After ham has baked 2 1/2 hours, prepare glaze: In small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat apple jelly and ginger to boiling; boil 2 minutes. Brush ham with some glaze. Bake ham 30 minutes to 1 hour longer, brushing occasionally with remaining glaze until thermometer reaches 140 degrees F. (15 to 18 minutes per pound total cooking time).

4. When ham is done, place on large platter; let stand 20 minutes for easier slicing. Garnish with fresh herbs.

Curried Peach & Cranberry Chutney

2 16-ounce cans sliced cling peaches in light syrup, drained and cut up

1 8- to 8 1/2-ounce jar peach or mango chutney, large pieces cut up

1 cup cranberries

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

In 3-quart saucepan, combine all ingredients; over high heat, heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens slightly and cranberries pop. Serve sauce warm or cover and refrigerate to serve cold.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

2 medium-size sweet potatoes (1 pound), peeled and cut into 2" chunks

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

5 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons margarine or butter (1 1/4 sticks)

1/3 cup milk

1. In 3-quart saucepan over high heat, heat sweet potato chunks and enough water to cover to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 12 to 15 minutes until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain sweet potatoes; mash and set aside to cool.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. With pastry blender or two knives used scissor-fashion, cut in margarine or butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and cooled mashed sweet potatoes; mix until just combined.

3. On lightly floured surface, pat dough into an 8 1/2 inch square. Cut dough in half. Cut each half into 10 equal pieces. Place biscuits, 2 inches apart, on 2 ungreased large cookie sheets.

4. Place cookie sheets on 2 oven racks; bake biscuits 12 to 15 minutes until golden, rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower racks halfway through baking time. Serve biscuits warm. Or, if not serving right away, cool biscuits on wire rack. Store in tightly covered container to use within 1 day or wrap in foil and freeze to use within 2 weeks. Reheat before serving.

Praline-Iced Brownies

1 cup margarine or butter (2 sticks)

4 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate

4 1-ounce squares semisweet chocolate

2 1/4 cups sugar

6 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Praline Topping (Below)

1/2 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 13" by 9" metal baking pan with foil; grease foil.

2. In heavy 3-quart saucepan over low heat, melt margarine or butter and chocolates, stirring frequently. Remove saucepan from heat. With wire whisk, beat in sugar, then eggs, until well blended. Stir in vanilla, salt, then flour just until blended. Spread batter evenly in pan.

3. Bake 35 minutes (toothpick inserted in brownies will not come out clean). Cool brownies in pan on wire rack. If not using brownies within 1 day, cover cooled brownies with foil and refrigerate or freeze for longer storage.

4. Prepare Praline Topping. With metal spatula, spread topping over room-temperature brownies; sprinkle with pecans. Cut brownies lengthwise into 8 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 8 pieces.

PRALINE TOPPING:

In 2-quart saucepan over medium-low heat, heat 5 tablespoons margarine or butter and 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar, until mixture melts and bubbles, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. With wire whisk, beat in 3 tablespoons bourbon (or, in place of bourbon, substitute 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons water), then 2 cups confectioners' sugar until mixture is smooth.

Ambrosia Layer Cake

Orange Filling (Below)

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup margarine or butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk (See Note)

Fluffy White Frosting (Below)

1 cup flaked coconut

Orange-peel curls for garnish

1. Prepare Orange Filling. Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours.

2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 13" by 9" metal baking pan.

3. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat sugar and margarine or butter just until blended. Increase speed to high; beat until light and fluffy, 5 minutes, scraping bowl often with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to low; add vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time, until blended. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, ending with flour, until batter is well mixed, occasionally scraping bowl.

5. Spread batter in pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. With spatula, loosen cake from edges of pan. Invert cake onto wire rack to cool completely.

6. Prepare Fluffy White Frosting.

7. To assemble cake, use a serrated knife to cut cake horizontally in half. To remove top cake layer, carefully place cookie sheet in between cut layers and lift off top layer. With metal spatula, spread cooled Orange Filling on bottom layer. Carefully transfer top layer of cake onto bottom layer by gently sliding cake onto filling.

8. Frost top and sides of cake with Fluffy White Frosting. Sprinkle with coconut. Garnish with orange-peel curls.

Note: Or, instead of buttermilk, in 1-cup glass measuring cup, place 1 tablespoon lemon juice, then add enough milk to equal 1 cup. Let mixture stand until thickened, about 5 minutes.

ORANGE FILLING: From 4 large oranges, grate 1 tablespoon peel and squeeze 1 1/3 cups juice. From 1 lemon, squeeze 1 tablespoon juice. In heavy 3-quart saucepan, mix orange peel, orange juice, lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, and 3 tablespoons cornstarch until blended. Add 1/2 cup margarine or butter (1 stick) and cook over medium heat until mixture boils; boil 1 minute. In small bowl, beat 6 large egg yolks slightly. Into yolks, beat a small amount of orange mixture; pour egg mixture back into orange mixture in saucepan. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is very thick, about 3 minutes. Pour filling into medium bowl; cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled.

FLUFFY WHITE FROSTING: In top of double boiler, over simmering water, with handheld mixer at high speed, beat 2 large egg whites, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon light corn syrup, and 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar until soft peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove double-boiler top from double-boiler bottom; continue beating at high speed until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes.

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