Paula Deene's Zuchini Bread

I have tried many zucchini bread recipes and they just leave me flat. Kind of nothin' muffin if you know what I mean. But the Denman loves it so after what seems like a year of begging, I have agreed to make him a batch. Actually he threatened to make it himself and if your husband is anything like mine, the clean up would not be pretty. So,................................ to tell you the truth, I went looking to see if Ina Garten had anything out there and she didn't but Paula Deen does so I opted for Paula. This is how it goes and I actually kind of like this one. It has some taste, if you get my meaning.

Ingredients:

Mix together in a large bowl (I used my mixer bowl for this part);
3.25 C. flour
1.5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. soda
3 C. sugar
1 tsp vanilla (I added this, anything that you have cinnamon and nutmeg in should have vanilla in as well, it make you taste the spices)

In a second bowl combine:
1 C. canola oil
4 lrg beaten eggs
1/3 C. water
2 C. grated zucchini
1 tsp. lemon juice

Pour the zucchini mixture in to the dry ingredients. At the mixer, combine until well incorporated.

Add in;
1 C. chopped walnuts or pecans

Pre heat your oven to 350F and spray 2 standard loaf pans with non-stick spray. Do a good job because there is quite a bit of sugar in this and it will tend to hang on to the pan a bit.
Bake at 350F for 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean.

Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

The soda and the lemon juice make it rise nicely and the sugar adds a bit of the crunch to the crust.

Ina Garten's Macaroni and Cheese (GrownUp Mac and Cheese)

Ingredients:
Kosher salt to taste
veggie oil (I use EVOO)
1 pound of pasta, you choose the shape, prepared to package directions

Mean while:

12 oz, Gruyere cheese, I substituted aged Swiss as the Gruyere is about $20.00 a pound at HyVee
8 oz. sharp cheddar

Grate both of these, use your food processor. Set aside.


1 qrt whole milk, In a sauce pan large enough to contain it. Don't boil it just heat it

In a large stock pot;
6 Tbsp butter melted
1/2 C. flour
1 Tbsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg, OK, I grated it in from the whole seed, smells wounderful
Whisk this until smooth, Cook this about 2 minutes, just enough to cook the flour

Add in the milk and stir continually until the mixture thickens and is smooth.

Off heat, add in that cheese that you worked so hard to grate. Stir until the cheese is melted and well blended.

Add in the drained cooked pasta.

Pour the whole mess into a 9x13 baking dish or a 3 quart baking dish.

4 Roma tomatoes, washed and slices evenly. Arrange these slices over the top of the mac and cheese.

Back at the food processor, you don't need to wash it until you are done.

5 slices of bread chunked up and ran through the processor to make fresh bread crumbs, pour them it a bowl
 2 Tbsp of butter, melted and poured over the top of the bread crumbs
1/3 C. grated parmesan cheese

Mix well and spread evenly over the tomato topped Mac and Cheese.

About here I would add that a bit of Sweet Basil would hit a sweet note with all of this but I didn't think of it until just this minute, darn.
Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

This makes a pretty full 9x13 so you might want to use a cookie sheet under it and save your oven.

Ina Garten's Oatmeal Raisin/Pecan Cookies

This recipe was on one of the Barefoot Contessa  a while back and has become a favorite of everyone that I share it with except Craig who doesn't care for raisins. I guess you can make everyone happy.

There are a couple of important things with this recipe.
1     soak your raisins in very warm water while you are mixing up the rest of the dough, then drain them just before you add them to the dough mixture

2     toast those pecans it makes a world of difference in the flavor of these cookies.

Ina Garten’s Oatmeal Raisin/Pecan Cookies

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups pecans
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 1/2 cups raisins
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool. Chop very coarsely.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the oats, raisins, and pecans and mix just until combined.

Using a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop 2-inch mounds of dough onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with a damp hand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.



Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/raisin-pecan-oatmeal-cookies-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Pineapple/Mango Salsa

What I am going to tell you makes about a pint of salsa so cut to what you need. 
I came up with this a few years ago and have used it with smoked pork chops, ham, grilled salmon and chicken and haven't found any thing that it isn't great with. It is kind of like a chutney, I guess in the way that I use it. Remember that I am not someone who really likes thinks spicy hot, I'm more of a middle of the road person and so is my husband.

Pineapple/Mango Salsa

2 C. fresh pineapple diced fairly small
1 mango, pared, seeded and diced fairly small
6 scallions, thinly sliced, include some of the green
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 of a red bell pepper diced small
Dash of Kosher salt
1/4 C honey
The juice of each of these:
Fresh orange
Fresh lemon
Fresh lime

For heat I put in cayenne pepper to taste or you could us a jalapeno pepper, seeded and de-vained.

This can be served straight away or if you allow it to masserate over night in the frig it is better.

I took a 1/2 pint of it to the local grocery and had some of my local foodies try it. It got thumbs up for sure. I plan to take this with and serve it with smoked pork chops at a group camp out over Memorial Day. There will be baked potatoes, green salad with strawberries and honeyed almond with my Raspberry Poppy Seed Dressing.  For dessert it will be Ina Garten's Oatmeal Raisin Toasted Pecan cookies.  Should be good. 

Ina Garten's Linguine with Shrimp Scampi Supper Good!!!!!

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi Recipe
Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

Copyright 2002, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, All Rights Reserved
Show: Barefoot ContessaEpisode: Pasta Bella
Recipe categories: Fruit, Lemon, Shellfish, Shrimp, more
Recipe Ratings & Reviews(535) Videos(4)
  
25 min
Prep 10 min
Cook 15 min
Yield: 3 servings
Level: Easy
 
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Ingredients
Vegetable oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt plus 1 1/2 teaspoons
3/4 pound linguine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 lemon, zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
Directions
Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package.

Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.

 

Basil Galic Pasta w/ Caponata Vegetalles My Way

Hi, yesterday in the rain and cold Den and I were in Cedar Rapids and looked for and found NEWBO Marketplace over near the 12th St Bridge area in the Czeck sector. They had some wonderful vendors in area that day and before I left I had to try some things that I hadn't tried before. One was a booth  called Pappardelle's the fine art of pasta. Yes, the pasta is a bit price at $8.25 per pound on the vermicelli but I had to try a pound and I will be back. I asked for an received the recipe on the front of the display for  Basil Garlic Pasta.

This is what I did with it and it is tasty. The lady across the street liked it a lot and when Den gets in from trying to drain the backyard 15 gallons at a time he will like it as well.

I made a couple of changes to suit myself but I will let you know what they were. To begin with this is a  veggie only dish as written and I added chicken to it.

14 oz. Pappardelle's Basil Garlic Pasta
1 med. eggplant, pared and cut in to sticks style pieces
2 med. zucchini, cut into stick style pieces
1 sm. onions peeled and I chopped it (the recipe called for 8 baby onions peeled)
2 garlic cloves, crushed (I used 2 tsps of jarred minced garlic)
1 lrg, red bell pepper, sliced (I used some green and some yellow)
4 tbsp. EVOO (I used basil infused EVOO)
1 3/4 C. tomato juice (I used a 14 oz. can of Italilan flavored diced tomatoes)
2/3 C. water (I used chicken stock)
3 or 4 large basil leaves, cut into thin slices (my add)
1 tsp. of Penzey's Murel of Flavor (my add)
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
Juice of on lemon
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tbsp. sliced black olives
2 tbsp. caper, drained, mostly
I added 1 complete skinless, boneless chicken breast, trimmed, flattened to about 1/4", and cut into strips

Cut up the zucchini and eggplant and let stand in salt water for about 30 minutes., rinse and pat dry

Lightly fry onions, garlic, peppers and chicken in the EVOO (I used my Dutch Oven for this part).

Add in the tomato or tomato juice as you choose, water or chicken stock as you choose. Bring to a boil and add the rest of the ingredients less the pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile boil the pasta to al dente (about 8-10 minutes) drain and add to the pot.

This makes a goodly amount, I should warn you now. It would feel 6 with a side of garlic toast and maybe a salad.

Try it, I think that you will like it.

Ina Garten's Mixed Berry Pavlova

1 Video | Photo: Mixed Berry Pavlova Recipe

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Total Time:

2 hr 3t

Ingredients

·         4 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature

·         Pinch kosher salt

·         1 cup sugar

·         2 teaspoons cornstarch

·         1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

·         1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·         Sweetened Whipped Cream, recipe follows

·         1/2 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

·         1/2 pint fresh blueberries

·         1/2 pint fresh raspberries

·         Triple Raspberry Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees F.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a sheet pan. Draw a 9-inch circle on the paper, using a 9-inch plate as a guide, then turn the paper over so the circle is on the reverse side. (This way you won't get a pencil mark on the meringue.)

Place the egg whites and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until firm, about 1 minute. With the mixer still on high, slowly add the sugar and beat until it makes firm, shiny peaks, about 2 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the mixer, sift the cornstarch onto the beaten egg whites, add the vinegar and vanilla, and fold in lightly with a rubber spatula. Pile the meringue into the middle of the circle on the parchment paper and smooth it within the circle, making a rough disk. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven, keep the door closed, and allow the meringue to cool completely in the oven, about 1 hour. It will be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

Invert the meringue disk onto a plate and spread the top completely with sweetened whipped cream. Combine the strawberries, blueberries and raspberries in a bowl and toss with about 1/2 cup of raspberry sauce, or enough to coat the berries lightly. Spoon the berries carefully into the middle of the Pavlova, leaving a border of cream and meringue. Serve immediately in large scoops with extra raspberry sauce.

Sweetened Whipped Cream:

·         1 cup cold heavy cream

·         1 tablespoon sugar

·         1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (you can also use a hand mixer). When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until firm. Don't overbeat!

Yield: 1 cup

Triple Raspberry Sauce:

·         1 half-pint fresh raspberries

·         1/2 cup sugar

·         1 cup seedless raspberry jam (12-ounce jar)

·         1 tablespoon framboise liqueur

Place the raspberries, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 4 minutes. Pour the cooked raspberries, the jam, and framboise into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until smooth. Chill.

Yield: 2 cups