Bookclub Chicken Salad - I leave out the chicken when I want the salad as a side dish.
6 to 8 chicken breasts
Cook chicken breasts for 30 minutes at 350°. Cool and cut into small pieces.
Sugared almonds:
8 oz slivered almonds
4 Tbsp sugar
In small skillet, sprinkle sugar over almonds and cook over medium heat until almonds are coated and sugar has dissolved.
2 bags European blend salad mix
1 head Iceberg lettuce, torn into pieces
(Spring Mix and/or Romaine in place of either lettuce is fine)
1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 c craisins
1 c shredded Mozzarella cheese
Feta cheese, to taste
Dressing:
1/2 red onion
1 tsp salt
2 c sugar
1 c red wine vinegar
4 tsp dry mustard
2 c vegetable oil
For dressing, finely chop red onion in food processor. Add sugar, dry mustard, salt and vinegar and blend until frothy. Slowly add oil. (This makes a LOT of dressing - I store it in a large Mason jar in the fridge - it lasts a long time!) Toss chicken, lettuce, bacon, craisins and cheese together in large salad bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Sprinkle sugared almonds on top and serve.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes
Alix, this is for you:
Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)
CUPCAKES:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour – do not substitute!
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla Buttercream (recipe follows) or Chocolate Buttercream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
Note: If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30-40 minutes.
Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Makes enough for one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes*
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
*Note: If you are icing a 3-layer cake, use the following recipe proportions: 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, 8 to 10 cups confectioners’ sugar, 3/4 cup milk, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. The butter, eggs and milk should be at room temperature before you begin a recipe. When creaming butter, it is necessary to beat the butter until it is light and fluffy, which takes about 3 minutes depending on the mixer. It is important to add the sugar gradually, beating continuously and then continue beating for 2-3 min after wards. The eggs should be added one at a time, beating the mixture until it is thick, fluffy and pale in color. up to this point it is almost impossible to beat the batter too much. It is best to bake the pans in the center of the oven, placing the pans on the same rack if possible, but not touching.
Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)
CUPCAKES:
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour – do not substitute!
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla Buttercream (recipe follows) or Chocolate Buttercream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
Note: If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30-40 minutes.
Magnolia's Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Makes enough for one 2-layer 9-inch cake or 2 dozen cupcakes*
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly. (Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.) Icing can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
*Note: If you are icing a 3-layer cake, use the following recipe proportions: 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, 8 to 10 cups confectioners’ sugar, 3/4 cup milk, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. The butter, eggs and milk should be at room temperature before you begin a recipe. When creaming butter, it is necessary to beat the butter until it is light and fluffy, which takes about 3 minutes depending on the mixer. It is important to add the sugar gradually, beating continuously and then continue beating for 2-3 min after wards. The eggs should be added one at a time, beating the mixture until it is thick, fluffy and pale in color. up to this point it is almost impossible to beat the batter too much. It is best to bake the pans in the center of the oven, placing the pans on the same rack if possible, but not touching.
Friday, September 11, 2009
thai peanut sauce/pasta
This was super easy.
peanut sauce for 10:
1 C. peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1/2 C. soy sauce
2 tsp. white or brown sugar
4 drops of hot sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 cup water
(I also added rice vinegar 1 tsp and a sprinkle of ginger) not called for in original
Heat on low over stove and top thai noodles and veggies
Ronald McDonald House Activity
I've reserved the night for us to serve dinner at the Salt Lake City Ronald McDonald House. Unfortunately, our regularly scheduled night for recipe club was already taken, but hopefully you will all be able to make it on Tuesday, December 8th.We are limited to 12 people in the kitchen so if you are interested, please reply to this post soon. If there are additional spots available (I know December can be a crazy month) then we will open it up to bring your children, if you'd like.
Even if you cannot attend, but would like to donate to the dinner, that is fine too. Last year we served 40-60 people for about $200 total. So a $20 donation would be appreciated if you can swing it. You can give the money to our finance guru, Michele.
We will need volunteers for the following so please include in your reply post if you would like to assist with one of these jobs: We can also discuss this when we meet in October at Kori's.
- menu planning
- grocery shopping
- prepping food
Food must be either store bought or prepared on site. This means, we don't get any of Mona's famous desserts unless she brings the ingredients to the Ronald McDonald House early and makes/bakes them there. Here are some other Dinner tips.
Beef Curry
The directions are on the box, which can be found in the specialty food isle of most grocery stores:Ingredients:
1lb meat: chicken, beef, or lamb
1 yellow onion
1 carrot
1-2 potatoes, cubed
2.5 cups water
Golden Curry Sauce Mix
White Rice
Directions:
Cut meat into cubes and chop onions.
Stir fry meat and onions in oil in a large skillet until onions are lightly browned.
Add vegetables
Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until veggies are soft and meat is tender (about 10 minutes).
Remove from heat, break Curry Sauce Mix into pieces and add them to the skillet. (You many need to add more water, depending on how much you lost from the previous step.)
Stir until completely melted.
Simmer 5 minutes.
Serve over hot rice or noodles.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Cedar Salmon with Mango Avacado Salsa
Soak cedar plank in water for 20 minutes-4 hours.
Rinse and pat dry salmon. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Put the plank on the grill by itself until edges are black then put the salmon on the plank. You want the grill pretty hot, so it will only take 5-8 minutes to cook. Don't over cook. Just until the fish flakes easily with a fork and is no longer transparent.
Top with Mango Avacado Salsa:
1 Large Mango, peeled and diced
2 Large Avocados, peeled and diced
1/4 Cup chopped fresh Cilantro
1/4 Cup chopped Red Onion
1 Jalapeno Pepper, cored and diced
Juice of 2 Limes
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon Sugar
(also good with tortilla chips)
Rinse and pat dry salmon. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Put the plank on the grill by itself until edges are black then put the salmon on the plank. You want the grill pretty hot, so it will only take 5-8 minutes to cook. Don't over cook. Just until the fish flakes easily with a fork and is no longer transparent.
Top with Mango Avacado Salsa:
1 Large Mango, peeled and diced
2 Large Avocados, peeled and diced
1/4 Cup chopped fresh Cilantro
1/4 Cup chopped Red Onion
1 Jalapeno Pepper, cored and diced
Juice of 2 Limes
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon Sugar
(also good with tortilla chips)
Andrea's Brisket (from stacy)
Marinate brisket for 24 hours covered with plastic wrap in pan with: liquid smoke, worcestershire sauce, kosher salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic salt, seasoned salt.
5-6 hours before preheat oven to 300 degrees. Wrap brisket in foil and put back in cleaned pan. Cook 5-6 hours.
Cut off fat, coat with favorite jar of barbeque sauce. Put back in oven to reheat with sauce. Let cool 10 minutes and slice!
5-6 hours before preheat oven to 300 degrees. Wrap brisket in foil and put back in cleaned pan. Cook 5-6 hours.
Cut off fat, coat with favorite jar of barbeque sauce. Put back in oven to reheat with sauce. Let cool 10 minutes and slice!
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