Recipes

July 13, 2018, posted by Michelle – It’s Friday the 13th but we have nothing to fear here in France! We’re celebrating Bastille Day tomorrow and, of course, looking forward to playing Croatia in the World Cup Finals on Sunday. That being said, this weekend is like 4th of July and the Superbowl all rolled into one. So, there will be big parties, picnics, cook-outs, fireworks, French flags and much merriment all weekend. I want to share the recipe for a cold dish I will be serving which is perfect for summertime. Serve this with a simple arugula and sliced avocado salad and voilà, you will have a delicious, easy to make meal. Even better – have some ice cold limoncello on hand to sip on afterwards.  Vive La France! Vive La République! Have a great weekend everyone!

June 30, 2018, posted by Gina – The 4th of July is almost here and you, no doubt, have party plans. If you’re looking for a simple and delicious side dish for the festivities, look no further. My family loves pasta salad and this recipe is a crowd pleaser. You may have seen similar recipes made with spaghetti but we prefer to use rotini because it’s so easy to eat.

December 4, 2017, posted by Gina – I am sure you are like us and have lots of to-do lists for the holidays right about now. This year we are looking for ways to make life easier during the holidays so I thought I would share this super easy Baked Corn recipe with you. If I had to choose a favorite side dish, this one would certainly be in my Top 5. It is delicious and very easy to prepare. I have never found a person who did not like it, so it works great for a crowd.

Simple ingredients are needed and not one ounce of chopping is involved. I know! Crazy right?Trust me it tastes like a whole lot more effort goes into this. We are all about making you look good!

This the only piece of this deliciousness remaining after my family gobbled it up before I could take a photo of the finished pan. I guess that let’s you know that it’s really good.

Here’s the recipe. Your people will love you.

November 7, 2017, posted by Gina – Hello! We’re back again today with Part 2 of our Brunch menu. Our first recipe is for Easy Baked Eggs and we have a few notes to help you. I used ham, omitted the garlic (it just seemed too early to be hitting the hard stuff) and used spinach because kale is a garnish. I found that baking the eggs for only 20 minutes was not enough. I ended up cooking mine for 30 minutes, but all ovens don’t bake the same so check this very frequently. The best thing about this dish was the creamy egg yolk. If it cooked too long this dish would not be as wonderful as it is. This recipe makes four servings.

The original recipe for these Sausage Asiago Rolls was actually for an appetizer but when I read it I felt it could easily be changed to a brunch item. These make you look like you are a chef and the flavor is delicious plus they are very easy to prepare. I found that these slices would not fit in a 9- inch round cake pan and baked them on a cookie sheet instead. Not sure what is up with that, but it had to be done.

Our final recipe is for a Lemon Poppy Seed Cake. I have prepared this recipe for over 20 years. If you don’t care for baking, then this is not your gig. This is a dense cake with tons of flavor and texture. I used loaf pans instead of a tube pan when baking. The batter is enough to make 2 cakes if using loaf pans. It’s like a two for one sale. While this recipe does not call for FRESH lemon juice, I believe you should use fresh lemon juice since it is one of the main ingredients. And just as an aside concerning butter, does anyone know why recipes say one cup and not 2 sticks? I mean is that not a whole lot easier? I have always wondered this. Help me out.

November 6, 2017, posted by Gina – I will be sharing a few recipes for a brunch menu today and tomorrow. These may come in handy if you’re expecting out of town guests over the holidays. Today I am posting two recipes from this menu;  coffee cake (and not just any coffee cake but the Ultimate coffee cake) and fresh fruit with a very delicious fruit dip. Tomorrow I’ll post recipes for Asiago Sausage Rolls, Lemon Poppy Seed Cake and Easy Baked Eggs. Enjoy!

BRUNCH MENU

Ultimate Coffee Cake

Fresh Fruit with Marshmallow Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

Asiago Sausage Rolls

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Easy Baked Eggs

The following recipe for Paula Deen’s Ultimate Coffee Cake is fabulous, but I have a word of warning. I followed the directions and put 16 rolls in my Bundt pan, covered them with plastic wrap and then went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, I screamed as it looked as if this pan of dough was about to take over my kitchen. See for yourself…

My advice is to use 12 rolls instead of 16 – 18 as indicated on Paula’s original recipe. Your Bundt pan will not look nearly full enough but the rolls will rise and all will be just fine. The great thing about this is you do everything the night before and just bake it the next day. This gooey coffee cake has just the right amount of crunch from the pecans. Here’s the original recipe…

I have a confession. I had never, ever used Marshmallow Cream before this recipe. In fact, I did not know where it could be found in the grocery store. About a year ago I was at a garden club function where this dip was served and it was so delicious. I tried to find the person who made it to no avail. Last week I was trying to come up with some brunch recipes and I remembered this dip. After a quick search on the internet I found a recipe, though it’s so simple you really don’t need one. Get ready to love this!

Check back tomorrow for the other recipes!

October 12, 2017, posted by Gina – This Walnut and Roquefort Salad combines crisp romaine lettuce with creamy avocado, crunchy, rich walnuts and roquefort cheese (a sheep’s milk blue cheese). Top it with a fresh vinaigrette and you have a salad with the perfect combination of ingredients. This recipe is from the Come On In cookbook from the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi.

October 11, 2017, posted by Gina – We love pork tenderloin any time of year but this stuffed version seems to be the perfect offering for a Fall menu. It combines fresh spinach with sweet apricots for a very moist filling for the meat. Finish it off with a wine and beef stock sauce and you are sure to make your family or guests very happy. This recipe is from the Come On In cookbook from the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi.

We are providing a bit of a tutorial as you will need to butterfly the tenderloin. We promise it is not hard and all you need is a sharp knife. Truly, good knives are the key to ease in the kitchen.

October 10, 2017, posted by Gina – We are sharing two favorite crowd pleasing appetizers that are perfect for Fall.  Brie with Cranberry Marmalade is a delicious combination of sweet and savory. The sweet and tart cranberry marmalade provides a delicious contrast to the melty, nutty, creamy brie. The Apple and Harvarti Quesadilla combines a simple quesadilla with tart apples and melted Havarti cheese. The bell peppers and green onion add crunchiness while the cayenne pepper, cider vinegar and brown sugar mixture perfectly compliments the apples and cheese. Both recipes are from Come On In from the Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi.

September 27, 2017, posted by Gina – There are as many different recipes for Eggplant Parmesan as there are stars in the sky, well, maybe not that many but there are a lot. First, Eggplant Parmesan is said to have originated in Southern Italy. As you can imagine a dish this delicious was tried in many kitchens and so it spread through Italy with various versions. And then there is American Eggplant Parmesan. It turns out that the main difference between American and Italian is that Americans fry the eggplant. Figures! Here, I am sharing an American version with a twist but I think you will really enjoy it. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Enjoy!

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August 9, 2017, posted by Gina -At long last I have the Peach Hand Pie recipe to share! I think I mentioned that I am not that fond of fruit desserts but these little pies are delicious. This recipe came from a chef and I feel fortunate that it was shared with me. You could use just about any fruit in this recipe but peaches are in season right now so it seems we should enjoy their bounty while we can. Let’s get started.

PEACH FILLING
3 ripe peaches, sliced very thin
1 cup water
¾ cup sugar
½ cup orange juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Combine peaches and all remaining ingredients in saucepan and cook on low for 1 hour. Cool. Place in refrigerator until ready to prepare pies.

PIE DOUGH
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tbs. sugar
9 tbsp. frozen unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¼ cup vodka
¼ cup cold water

Combine flour, salt and sugar in food processor and pulse 10 times. Add frozen butter and process until mixture resembles cornmeal. Combine water and vodka. With food processor on, let liquid stream into dough mixture until combined. Place food processor bowl in freezer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, divide dough into 12 equal portions. Shape each dough portion into a ball. Roll each portion to a 5-inch circle. Cut dough with a 3-inch biscuit cutter.

To assemble, top one of the 3-inch circles with the peach filling then top with another 3-inch circle of dough. Press edges together with a fork to seal. Place 3 – 4 slits in each pie.

EGG WASH
1 large egg
1 tablespoon milk

Combine egg and milk and brush over tops of pies.

SUGAR TOPPING
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over each pie.

Bake at 425 degrees for 18 minutes or until lightly browned (this was at 12 minutes in my oven).

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