Cheddar Pecan Wafers

This is a recipe from a Cardwell’s Restaurant cooking class. It is so easy to make and always great to have extra logs in the freezer. 

2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese or Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup butter, soft – not melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded finely chopped OR
4 little red chili peppers – makes them pretty
1 cup flour
3/4 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped (optional)

Combine cheese, butter, and salt.
Beat with mixer on medium speed until thoroughly blended – you can also mix by hand
Add peppers. (optional but add color and kick)
Add flour and mix well. Make cylinders - 1 ½ - 2 inches in diameter.
Roll in nuts to coat.
Wrap securely with plastic wrap and chill or freeze until ready to bake.
Cut into 1/4-inch slices and place on lightly greased cookie sheets.
Bake at 375º for 8 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
I also turn them over about halfway through cooking. Watch closely - time depends on how thin or thick they are sliced.
Makes about 3 dozen.

Pat Muma

Blue Cheese Tarts

We moved to St. Louis, MO in 1993 and quickly found Sidney Street Restaurant. We would take Marisa in her infant carrier and sit her on the table. It became a favorite for her as well as many of our friends. The chef use to have cooking classes at the local kitchen shop and this became one of our favorites. You cam make the puff pastry shells a day ahead and store in a ziplock bag.

Puff Pastry Sheet - 10 x 12
4 ounces blue cheese
8 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces sun dried tomatoes, chopped in 1/4 inch pieces
Pesto
Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
Cut out 4 inch circles from puff pastry sheets and bake at 450 degrees until golden brown; let cool completely, thin slice or pull apart in half.

Take cheeses at room temperature and blend with the tomatoes until fluffy. You may use a food processor. Spread mixture over the pastry - be sure to cover entire circle. Spread pesto over cheese mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan over the pesto. Sprinkle chopped nuts over top and broil about 4 inches from heat for 3 - 5 minutes until bubbly.

Pat Muma

Sunday Sauce

After Shawn and I married, we moved to Poughkeepsie, New York. Our first neighbors were Gerry & Linda Sepe (from the Bronx).They introduced us to great Italian cooking.  We quickly became family and that means having Sunday Sauce every Sunday!

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 pound sweet Italian fennel sausage or hot Italian sausage any kind you like or mix them, leave whole and cut into 2”pieces after browned

• 3 (26-ounce) containers of Italian chopped tomatoes

• 2 (26-ounce) containers of Italian crushed tomatoes

• Garlic cloves, minced

• Shallots, diced

• Crushed red pepper

• Dried oregano

• Salt and black pepper

• Chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

• Chopped fresh basil

• Meatballs, recipe below

• Braciola, recipe below

Quickly brown the sausages in a large pot that everything will eventually fit into. Brown and remove, add olive oil and sauce the garlic and shallots until translucent. Then add the sausages back and the tomatoes.  I usually buy the large cans of crushed tomatoes from Costco or Sam’s. Add the braciolas  directly into the sauce.  Do not cook them beforehand. Drop the meatballs into the sauce as you fry them.  After everything is in the sauce, add the herbs and cook on low for several hours. Serve with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.  We normally use penne pasta.

Freezes great in freezer ziplock bags. Lay them flat in freezer so they defrost faster. Count out the pieces of meat to add cups of sauce to when freezing separate meals.  I usually add 4 meatballs,1 piece of sausage and 1 braciola to two cups of sauce to freeze for two people. If you run out of meat, just freeze the sauce to use on other dishes. Too many meatballs, freeze with some sauce to have as meatball Parmigiano-Reggiano sandwiches.

Meatballs

• 1 pound ground beef 

• 1 pound ground pork

• 3/4 pound of ground veal - ok if you don’t use veal

• Shallot, finely chopped

• Garlic cloves, minced

• Italian seasoned bread crumbs

• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

• Chopped fresh, flat-leaf parsley

• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten - I use one per pound of meat 

• Salt and black pepper

I use rubber gloves to gently mix the meat to combine.  Add shallots, garlic, eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese, salt and pepper. Roll into balls.  Fry quickly in hot oil just to make crisp on each side (do not cook through) and then drop them directly into the sauce as you remove from frying pan.

Braciole

• 1 pound beef top round pounded thin - depends on how many pieces you want - see picture below.  Make them about 2-3 inches long. Normally for one braciole, three meatballs and two pieces of sausage is enough meat per person with the penne.

• Chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

• Garlic chopped fine

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• String (butcher’s twine) to secure the roll

Salt, pepper and rub garlic into meat, sprinkle with cheese and chopped flat leaf parsley.  Roll tightly and tie with string or seal with toothpicks.  Drop into tomato sauce to cook.

Pat Muma

Pork Tenderloin 7-6-5

Pork tenderloin is a perfect “go-to” dish – you can serve at your most formal dinner or you can throw it on the grill for a casual meal with family or friends. The trick to grilling pork tenderloin, however, is to try not to dry it out on the grill since it is small and lean.

I came across this fool-proof method for grilling pork tenderloin from Fine Cooking and it really works {every time} for perfect, tender, juicy grilled tenderloin. It’s called the “7-6-5” method and I think it’s brilliant!  Here are the basics: First marinate the meat overnight if possible.Grill it on high heat for 7 minutes, turn it over for another 6 minutes, then turn off the grill, and let it sit for 5 minutes. Keep the grill cover closed for each step. It’s so simple and takes away all the guess work!  

2 pork tenderloins (about 2 pounds total)
Use any marinade sauces you like. We like to use Hot Chili Oil, Sesame oil, light soy sauce, grated ginger, grated garlic and freshly ground black pepper. Marisa  introduced me to the frozen ginger and garlic cubes that are sold at Trader Joe’s.

Marinate the tenderloins in a medium bowl or zip lock bag. Trim the tenderloins of excess fat and silver skin and submerge them in the marinade; let stand about 45 minutes or overnight. Remove the pork from the marinade and pat dry.

Heat a gas grill, turning all the burners to high until the grill is fully heated,10 to 15 minutes.

Put the pork on the hot grill grate. Close the lid and grill for 7 minutes. Turn the pork over, close the lid, and grill for another 6 minutes. Turn off the heat (keep the lid closed) and continue to cook the pork for another 5 minutes. At this point, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the thickest end of the tenderloin should read 145° to 150°F. (If not, close the lid and let the pork continue to roast in the residual grill heat.)

Remove the pork from the grill and let rest for 5 minutes before carving. Cut across the grain into 1/2-inch slices and serve immediately.

Note:  Don’t worry about flare-ups, the tenderloins are so lean they won’t drip much on the flame. Comes out perfectly tender and juicy down to the last bite!

Pat Muma

Panther Pops Chocolate Chip Cookies

At ISB -  International School of Bangkok, the School Store sold Panther Pops every Friday.  Parents volunteered to make them.  We always brought Mars bars and chocolate chips back from the US each summer.

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 c. butter (soft)
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
6 1/2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips
40 wooden sticks
20 Mars bars cut in half

Directions:

Combine sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs. Mix well. Add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Add chocolate chips.

Securely insert stick into cut end of Mars bar. (Hint: you may need to chill Mars bar to make it a little firmer to hold the stick securely)

Shape 1/4 c. of dough around Mars bar, making sure it is completely covered. You must use a full 1/4 c. of dough for each pop. This way they are all the same size. It is recommend to spoon out 40 piles of dough before putting pops together. If there is leftover dough, add a little dough to each pile. Makes 40 Panther Pops

Place pops 4" apart on uncreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 13-16 minutes in 350F oven until 'light' golden brown. Remember not to over bake.

Allow to cool just a minute then carefully remove from cookie sheet and cool completely. When completely cool, place in individual bags, tie with twisty or ribbon.

CAN BE BAKED IN ADVANCE AND FROZEN. JUST TAKE OUT OF FREEER THE NIGHT BEFORE SALE DAY.

Pat Muma

Cinnamon Logs

1 loaf sliced bread
8 ounces cream cheese , softened
1 egg white
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter

TRIM crust from bread slices. Roll slices to ¼-inch thickness

BEAT cream cheese, egg white, and powdered sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread evenly on 1 side of each bread slice. Roll up, forming logs.

STIR together granulated sugar and cinnamon in a shallow dish. Dip logs in melted butter, and roll in sugar mixture. Place on lightly greased baking sheets – seam side down.

BAKE logs at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Pat Muma

Blueberry Muffins

Muffins:

1 /2 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. white sugar

2 t. baking powder

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 c. milk

1 c. blueberries

Crumb topping:

1/2 c. white sugar

1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. butter cubed

1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin cups or line with paper liners

2. For the muffins: whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in large bowl

3. Pour oil into a small liquid measuring cup. Add egg and enough milk to reach the 1 cup mark; stir until combined. Pour into flour mixture and mix just until batter is combined. Fold in blueberries; set batter aside.

4. For the crumb topping: combine sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix with a fork until crumbly.

5. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filled right to the top. Sprinkle with crumb topping.

6. Bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.

Tori and Justin Goldberger

Austrian Cream Cheese Bars

CRUST

1 1/2 c. all purpose or unbleached flour

1 c. firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2/3 c. butter or margarine

TOPPING

8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. sugar

2 T. flour

2 eggs

6 oz pkg (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

GLAZE

6 oz pkg (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 to 3/4 c. chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted

Heat oven to 350F. In large bowl, combine all crust ingredients. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes or until crumbly and well blended. Press mixture into uncreased 13x9 inch pan. Bake at 350F for 12 minutes. Remove from oven.

In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, 2 T. flour and eggs at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1 c. chocolate chips. Pour over partially baked crust. Bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until topping is almost set. Remove from oven; immediately sprinkle 1 c. chocolate chips over top. Return to oven for 1 minute to melt chips. Gently spread melted chips over top. Sprinkle with pecans; lightly press into glaze. Refrigerate 1 hour. Cut into bars. Stop in refrigerator. Yield: 36 bars.

Linda Shubert

Sugar Cookies

1 c. oleo (2 sticks)
1 c. oil
1 c. sugar
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
4 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp salt

Chill dough overnight. Bake at 350F. 10-12 min. Butter well bottom of glass and dip in sugar and press balls of dough

Linda Shubert's Gram

Shore Is Good Seafood Dip

1 6oz can picked free of any broken shells, drained crabmeat

1/2 lb. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 c. mayonnaise

1/2 (10 3/4 oz) can (discard top half and use bottom) cream of shrimp soup

2 stalks diced celery

1 medium diced onion

1 medium diced green pepper

2 T. butter

6 oz fresh or canned, drained shrimp

1/2 t. white pepper

Preheat oven o 325F. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion and celery and saute for 2 minutes. In a bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, Parmesan, crabmeat, shrimp and pepper. Stir the sautéed vegetables into the seafood mixture and spoon this mixture into a lightly greased 8 x 11 inch casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with toast points or crackers.

Linda Shubert

Nat's Enchiladas

 

Yields: 2 9x13 pans

(Meat is optional)

1 softball sized ball of chorizo sausage

Same size of any other meat

1 pkg. chopped frozen spinach

2 onions, chopped

1 lb. grated mozzarella cheese

1 lb. grated cheddar cheese (can substitute other types of cheese)

50 small (6") corn tortillas

1 28 oz. can of enchilada sauce

Optional green or red chilies chopped (about 1 c. per tray)

No rice or beans inside -- they go on the side.

Defrost and drain spinach. Brown the meat. Chop the onions. Put cooked meat, spinach and 90% of the onions (chilies) in a big-ass mixing bowl and stir. Add a cup of the enchilada sauce and mix again. Grease pans. Pinch the mix into the tortilla and add cheese. Roll to carrot size and place in pan. Seam side down. Should have room for about three columns with about 8 enchiladas in each column. Pour enchilada sauce to near fill the pan. Add cheddar cheese and a bit of mozzarella on top of enchiladas. Spray aluminum foil with non-stick oil and cover enchiladas. Bake 300F for 30 min. Uncover and cook 10 more min.

Nathaniel Usher

Bacon-Wrapped Halibut Bites with Balsamic Drizzle

Yields: 4 servings
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
12 slices bacon, halved crosswise
1 lb. skinless halibut fillets, cut into 1-inch cubes (there should be roughly 20-26 pieces)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp coarse kosher salt 

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the vinegar to a boil and cook for roughly 2-3 min. Then remove from the heat and whisk in the mustard and set aside to cool. Wrap a piece of bacon around each piece of fish and secure it with a wooden toothpick. Preheat oven to 450F. Coat a baking sheet with a high-heat cooking oil and preheat the baking sheet. Once hot, remove it from the oven and arrange the bacon wrapped fish on it with one exposed surface of fish facing up. Bake approximately 10 minutes. Turn the fish and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Dip the bacon-wrapped halibut bites in balsamic mustard sauce or drizzle the sauce over top.

Zach Usher

Bruschetta

6 tomatoes diced small
1 can diced tomatoes
1 large bunch of basil
1/2 to 1/2 c. olive oil
2 T. thyme
2 T. minced garlic
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper
dash of red pepper flakes

Pour olive oil into large skillet and sauté thyme and garlic on low heat just a few minutes. Add fresh tomatoes, canned diced tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer on low for 30 minutes. Add fresh basil leaves and simmer a bit longer. Before serving add a dash of red pepper flakes and grated Parmesan cheese. Lovely served with soft baguette bread torn into bit size pieces.

Natalie Usher 

Dad's Game Day Dip (Crock Pot)

1 can Wolf Brand chili without beans
1 sm. box Velvet Cheese
1 pkg. Owens hot sausage
Fritos or Tortilla Chips

Brown sausage in skillet, breaking up roll. Drain fat when mean is brown. Transfer to crock pot. Add can of chili. Add Velvetta cheese, cut up into chunks. Stir. Add 2 T. water. Dip will be thick at first, but put on low and cook all until all ingredients are heated and well mixed. (Can be made quickly in the microwave). Serve warm during the football game with chips.

Nathaniel Usher

Lily's Breakfast Parfaits

1 Banana sliced
1 green apple, peeled, cored and diced
5 strawberries cut in half
10 grapes cut in half and other fruit if you like
2 c. yogurt (plain or flavored)
3 T. honey
1 c. granola cereal

Cut fruit and mix in a bowl. Take 3 tall clear glasses and place 2 heaping tablespoons of fruit salad in each glass. Scoop yogurt on top of fruit. Sprinkle granola cereal on top of yogurt. Then drizzle hone on top of granola. Chill and serve.

Lilly Usher