Chewy No Bake Chocolate Macaroons

From In My Mother's Kitchen

Printable Recipe


Hands on time: 10 minutes

Chilling time at least 30 minutes, but keep in the freezer

Makes 4 ½ dozen

Ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar

6 tbsp cocoa powder

½ cup butter

½ cup milk (this time I used almond milk)

½ tsp vanilla extract

3 cups instant rolled oats

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Directions:

1. Combine the sugar, cocoa powder, butter and milk in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring.  Remove from heat and add the vanilla.  

2. Stir in the oats and coconut flakes until well blended.

3. Transfer to a large cookie sheet lined with parchment – large teaspoonfuls, with space in between and flattened.  Place in the freezer and wait for 30 minutes.  .

Once they are frozen, transfer to a container, placing parchment between each layer – to eliminate any sticking.   Keep them in the freezer, ready to eat whenever you get the  craving.

White Bean, Mint & Parmesan Dip

From The Lazy Gourmet

(I should have chosen a more colorful bowl to serve it in... but it was devoured in no time!)

Printable Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes

Makes: 1¾ cup

Ingredients:

1 large clove garlic, peeled

1 (14oz/398ml) can cannellini beans (or white kidney beans), drained & rinsed

2 tbsp olive oil (plus whatever you need to balance the lemon juice)

½ cup fresh mint leaves

Juice & zest of 1 large lemon

Pinch of salt

½ jalapeno pepper, seeded & finely chopped ( or more if you like it really spicy)

1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Drop the garlic through the feeding tube of your food processor with the motor running.  Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth. Taste and add whatever is missing in your mind. If it’s too thick, add a little water, lemon juice or oil – a tiny bit at a time.

2. Transfer to a bowl, and serve with chips or crudites.

Potato Beet Latkes

Adapted from NY Times recipe 

Printable Recipe

Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes – 1 hour
Makes 25-30 latkes

Ingredients
4 large potatoes, peeled, and grated (2 lb/950g)
1 small onion, grated

2 medium sized beets, peeled & grated (separately from the potatoes) (1lb/425g)
2-3 large eggs
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup flour
1 tbsp Nyfat or vegetable oil
2 tsp baking powder
oil for frying

Directions
1. To grate potatoes, either use hand grater on large holes or food processor using grater blade but cut potatoes in quarters first. Rinse and drain well before next step. For finer consistency, either

1a) add this step: Pat dry and using steel blade, process by using “pulse” (on/off) several times. Do not fill the bowl more than halfway. You will probably need to do two or three batches.

Or

1b) cut potatoes into 4-6 chunks before adding to the feeding tube initially and they’ll probably be fine enough.

2. Separately grate the beets using the same technique (except for the soaking). 

3.  Using the regular blade, mince the onion.  Add to a large mixing bowl and then combine rest of ingredients (beets last and lightly tossed to leave the potatoes less red than the beets) except for oil for frying until well blended.

4. Using large serving spoon, drop batter into 2 tbsp hot oil in frying pan on medium high heat. Flatten the batter with the back of a spoon for even thickness and brown on both sides, turning only once. If the edges brown much quicker than the center turn the heat down to medium. (3-4 minutes per side)

5. Drain latkes on paper towels to eliminate excess oil.

6. Continue the process adding oil as needed. There should only be a slight film of oil in the pan. The latkes will absorb as much oil as you give it.

Tips & Variations
To keep potatoes looking white:  (Of course, they will turn pink once the beets are added, but better pink than that grayish color)
1. Keep them in cold water to remove starch;

2. Rinse and drain grated potatoes;

3. Grate onion after first batch of potatoes are grated, rinsed and drained and toss.
The trick to knowing when to turn the latke - it will be almost dry in the center.

To keep latkes warm, but not dried out or burnt while frying remaining batches, place in a oven at 200°F/100°C on a wire rack over a lipped baking sheet. This will allow excess oil to drain.

Sonia's Swedish Meatballs

From  Every Kitchen Tells ItsStories

Printable Recipe

Hands on time: 30 minutes

Cooking time : 1½ - 2 hours

Serves: 4-6 as a main with rice

Makes: 4½ -5 dozen appetizers (served with toothpicks)

Ingredients: 

3 lbs/1.3 kg minced beef &/or chicken

1 package onion soup mix (¼ cup/1.5 oz/40 g)

½ cup water

2 tbsp bread crumbs

Sauce:

1 bottle (14 oz/455 ml) chili sauce (American style)

4 oz/ 125 ml grape or apple jelly

½ cup ginger ale

8 oz/250 ml apricot preserves

1 bay leaf

Directions:

1.       Combine first four ingredients in bowl and make the meatballs – about the size of a golf ball (soup spoon).

2.       In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine the rest of the ingredients to make the sauce.

3.       Cook the sauce over medium high heat until jelly has melted and sauce is thoroughly mixed (about 5 minutes).

4.       Add meat balls (10 or so at a time), shake to coat with the sauce before adding more meatballs. Continue to add in batches of 10 until all the meatballs are in the pot.  Simmer uncovered for the first 30 minutes.  Gently (to avoid the meatballs from turning into mush.  shake the pot occasionally to coat the meatballs and ensure even cooking.  After about 1 hour gently use a spoon to stir the pot. Continue to cook for another hour or so.  Take the bay leaf out after 30 minutes.

If you are serving the meatballs as a cocktail appetizer, drain most of the sauce off, toss with some jelly and place on a cookie sheet under the broiler for a few minutes to caramelize the jelly.  Stick the meatballs with decorative toothpicks and, voila!

As a main course they go very nicely over garlic mashed potatoes, steamed rice (a little saffron turns it a gorgeous golden color), or couscous, to soak up the delicious gravy.  Serve it with a side dish of broccoli or green beans and you have a healthy, colorful, and scrumptious meal.

Spicy Fusion Chocolate Crackled Cookies

 

 From a McCormick Spices recipe

Printable Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes

Baking time : 10 minutes

Makes 30-36 cookies

Ingredients: 

12oz/340 g semi sweet chocolate

¾ cups flour

2 tsp Saigon Cinnamon

1 tsp Ancho chili pepper

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup ( ½ stick) butter, softened

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C   Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, aluminum foil or silpat baking mats

2. Melt 8oz/226g chocolate.  My preferred method is to add 1-2” water to a saucepan and place a metal mixing bowl over the top, making sure that the water does NOT touch the bowl.  Turn the heat to high and add coarsely chopped chocolate to the bowl.  Stir occasionally until the chocolate is melted and set aside.

3. Coarsely chop the remaining 4oz/123g chocolate or use the same amount of chocolate chips (about ¾ cup) and set aside.

4.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, ancho chile pepper, baking powder and salt.

5. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Add the melted chocolate and beat until well blended.  Gradually beat in the flour mixture on low speed  until it is totally combined.  Stir in the chopped chocolate. 

6. Drop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets about 1½” apart.  I like to use a mini ice cream scoop – my grandson thinks it’s the coolest thing… but a heaping tablespoon works just as well.

7.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cookies are set and slightly cracked on top.  Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. 

Wilted Greens with Ginger & Shoyu

Adapted from Cooking in the Moment

Printable Recipe


Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time : 5 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients: Book ingredients in red

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

2lb/950g baby arugula or Swiss Chard leaves (baby collard greens), cut into 2” strips or coarsely chopped

2 tbsp soy sauce (or 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp shoyu soy sauce)

½ tsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp avocado  or olive oil (expeller pressed vegetable oil)

2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and thinly julienned or finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, minced

1-2 pinches red pepper flakes (2 dried red chilies such as de Arbol, crumbled into small pieces)

Kosher salt

1 cup fresh shitake mushrooms, stems removed and caps sliced (optional)

2/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth

Directions:

1. (If you are using collard greens…blanch for 30 seconds in a large pot of salted boiling water.  Drain and quickly transfer to an ice bath.  As soon as they are cold, drain again and gently squeeze out as much moisture as possible.  Transfer to a bowl and toss with your fingers to separate, adding the shoyu and sesame oil and thoroughly distribute)

1a.  In a large non stick skillet, heat the olive, vegetable or avocado oil over medium heat. Add the onion and mushrooms and sauté until the onions are transluscent (2-3 minutes).  Add the greens, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes or crumbled dried chilies, plus the soy sauce and sesame oil unless you’ve followed step 1 for collard greens, and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the broth and continue to cook, until the greens are wilted and hot (2-3 minutes) , toss and season with a little more soy sauce if desired.


This time served with Black & Blue Steak, that has a lovely subtle Asian marinade and some mashed sweet potatoes.