Asparagus Soup with Parmesan Sprinkle

1T olive oil
1 Sm onion-chopped
1 clove garlic-minced
2 1/2 pounds asparagus-ends trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
4 cups chicken broth
4 tsp Parmesan cheese
fresh ground pepper

Heat oil over a medium heat in a medium sauce pan. Add onions, garlic,and asparagus and cook stirring occasionally, until onions soften, 5-7 minutes.  Do not brown.

Add broth, bring to simmer, and cook until asparagus is tender, about 10 min.

Remove from heat and carefully puree with a blender or hand blender.  Return to pan, gently reheat and season with pepper to taste. Serve each serving with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

We had this tonight and it was very easy to make and tastes wonderful (if you like asparagus).  It is from the South Beach cook book.

Pickled Mexican Carrots

Chiska gave me a jar of these for Christmas and they were so good.  I wasn't too sure about them when I saw them but they are delicious!! She found the recipe on a blog.

Pickled Mexican Carrots by- Ada Udall


5 pounds carrots, sliced 1/4” on a diagonal.
Put carrots in boiling water w/ 1 TBS salt for about 5 minutes till done but not soft. Test for the degree of crispness you want, then remove/ drain from hot water and put into a sink of ice water. You don’t want limp soggy pickles, but not too crisp either. Keep an eye on them and keep checking them and pull them off when they feel right to you.

In another pot put:
4 cups water
2 cups cider vinegar

2 TBS salt (I use pickling salt if I have it.)

Bring to a boil.

Open a small can of pickled jalapeno peppers. Use 1/4 cup of the liquid in the vinegar solution.

Slice 2 or 3 peppers into julienne strips.

Slice 1/2 white onion and

2 garlic cloves, peeled.

In a gallon jar, or several smaller ones that will equal a gallon, put down a layer of carrots, a few peppers, onion slices and garlic slices. Sprinkle a bit of cilantro and oregano on top and repeat starting with the carrots until all ingredients are used up. Pour hot vinegar solution over all and add 1 TBS olive oil on top and let stand for at least three days. You can repack into smaller jars or just eat them out of the big one. They will keep in the fridge for a few weeks. I have actually found a jar from last year in the root cellar and we opened it up and they were great! At room temp I don’t think that they would last as long as that.

Turkey

Jeremy (Ben's chef brother) instructed me on how to make a turkey last year, and it was so good! Of course, I forgot a lot of the instructions, and had to call him again this year. This year I am putting the instructions in a safe place: on our blog.

Rub down the turkey with salt, pepper and honey.

It is not recommended that you cook stuffing in the turkey. Because it is a raw cavity, for the stuffing to be safe to eat, it has to reach a certain temperature. In order for the stuffing to reach that temperature, the turkey has to get super hot, which will make the turkey dry. To give the turkey some flavor, "fill up that bird with love." In other words, put some herbs and garlic inside the cavity while it cooks.

Cook the turkey at 350 degrees uncovered until the turkey reaches the desired color.

Cover the turkey with tin foil and continue to bake.

Remove the turkey from the oven about 30 minutes before it is finished cooking (as a turkey will continue to cook for 30 minutes after you take it out of the oven).

Most people do not like turkey because most people over cook their turkeys. If you wait until the thing pops up (which is supposed to indicate the turkey is done), you have over cooked your turkey. Turkey should be moist, and then it will be yummy.

So, there you have it, and there I have it. Instructions for next year. Thanks, Jeremy!

Oh...and if your turkey happens to be de-boned (as I expect ours will), it will cook much faster.

French Bread

This is an easy French Bread recipe that I got from my friend. I made 12 loaves for a Priesthood Preview dinner and it was a hit. Much, much better than the store-bought stuff.

HOMEMADE FRENCH BREAD
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tablespoons Yeast
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
add these ingredients together and let sit until bubbly
1 Tablespoon salt
1/3 cup oil (any kind will do- I used Canola)
6 cups of flour (or a little more if it is too soft). I used 1/2 whole wheat

Put water, yeast, sugar and vinegar in your bowl, mix and let sit until yeast gets foamy. Add the rest of the ingredients and then knead for 2-5 mins.(I use my Bosch) Put dough in a bowl (or keep in the mixing bowl) and put in the oven with a small pot of water that you have already boiled. The water will keep the dough moist. Watch the dough and punch it down when it gets to the top of the mixing bowl. Do this every time it gets to the top of the bowl (I just set a timer and go about my day and check it every 30 mins). You can do this twice or longer if you wish. I opt for the two times!
Put the dough on a greased countertop and divide into 3 sections. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal on the cookie sheet (or use parchment paper). Roll the dough into balls and then rectangle shapes (french bread shapes). Slash tops of bread diagonally 3-5 times and cover with a beaten egg. Let rise 30 mins (or until doubled). Makes three medium size loaves. Recipe can be doubled to make great 6 loaves. Bake at 375 for 30 mins.

Sour Cream Apple Bars

I got this recipe from a friend that got it from a friend :)
It is so good I had to share.

Crust:

1 cup soft butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups oats

1 cup flour

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon
Filling:

1 cup sour cream (I used light)

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp flour

1 egg

2 cups shredded apples (I used Granny Smith’s)

For the crust: Beat the butter and brown sugar till creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Press half in a lightly greased 9×13″ pan. Bake at 350° for about 8-10 minutes.

While crust is baking, prepare the filling: Grate your apples. Mine were small, so I used three. Stir together all ingredients till well combined. Spread over hot crust. Top with remaining oatmeal mixture. Bake an additional 35-49 minutes, or till center is set. Cool, then cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

I peeled my apples.

BBQ Ckicken rolls

6 chicken breasts --fillet and pound with a meat mallet to flatten them
Monterey Jack cheese-- 12  1/4 inch thick slices about an inch wide
Black Forest ham--12 slices thin like sandwich meat
Sweet baby ray's BBQ sauce (or what ever sauce you like)--about 1-cup

After you fillet the chicken pound it with a meat mallet to flatten (this makes it easier to roll), place a slice of ham and a piece of cheese on the chicken and roll up.  Poke a toothpick through the chicken to hold it together.  Place the rolls into a 9x13 pan and pour the BBQ sauce over the chicken.  Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes on 350. 

Makes 12 rolls

Pizza Factory Bread Twists

Recipe from a friend of mine for yummy breadsticks!


Dough:

1 1/2 cups hot water

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp SAF instant yeast

3 1/2 – 4 cups flour

Glaze:

2-3 Tbsp melted butter

1/4 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dill weed

1/8 tsp Italian seasoning

Combine water, sugar, salt, yeast, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 3-4 minutes. On greased counter, break off pieces of dough and roll into thin ropes that are about 1 1/2 times the length of your skewers. Twist the rope around the skewer and place on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat till all dough is used. Let twists rise till doubled, about 30 minutes. While they are baking, combine the glaze ingredients so the flavors will blend. Bake twists at 375 for about 12-15 minutes or till golden brown. Remove from oven and brush with the butter glaze. Try not to drool.

Notes:

-You could add some canned parmesan cheese to the glaze if you want. All I had was the fresh stuff and I knew that wouldn’t work as well.

-If you don’t have skewers and are just twisting your dough ropes together, they will need to bake longer because they will be fatter.

-As with all bread recipes, if you don’t have the instant yeast, you must first dissolve your yeast in the warm water, and let the dough rise once before you form your twists.

-I tried brushing the glaze on a few of the twists before baking them, and trust me, it is not as good. Brushing them after really made a difference in the great flavor