Tag Archives: recipes
January 27, 2014 Cookie Swap
We had so much fun this holiday season at my office. We had about 20 people in my office participate in a cookie swap! I think that I may be going through cookie withdrawal right now…but it was worth it. I thought I would share some of the recipes! Enjoy!
Pecan Puffs
Beat until fluffy:
1 cup vegetable shortening
½ cup powdered sugar
Then add:
2 ½ cups sifted flour
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
¾ cup chopped pecans
Shape into balls. Bake at 350 degrees on greased sheet 10-12 minutes until light brown. Roll in powdered sugar after cooked. Makes two dozen.
Cranberry Orange Cookies
Makes 3.5-4 dozen cookies
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 15ish min
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until well blended. Mix in 1 teaspoon orange zest and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the orange mixture. Mix in cranberries and if using, walnuts, until evenly distributed. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced at least 2 inches apart.
3. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
4. In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, 3 tablespoons orange juice and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Spread over the tops of cooled cookies. Let stand until set.
Snickerdoodles from AllRecipes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.
Sugar Cookies
Cookie:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Icing:
Water
confectionary sugar
food coloring
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In small bowl – stir flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Blend in the dry ingredients. Roll out dough so that it is 1/8″ thick, cut out cookies using cookie cutters.
Lay out cookies onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Let sit on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to another surface to cool.
Once fully cooled, ice cookies and decorate with sprinkles. Lay out flat until icing hardens and enjoy!
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Yields: 4 dozen
Glazed Cider Cookies from Food Network Magazine
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole allspice berries
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
Coarse gold sugar, for decorating
Directions
Bring the apple cider, cinnamon stick and allspice to a simmer in a small pot over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 12 minutes; set aside to cool. Remove the cinnamon stick and allspice berries.
Whisk the flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the egg and half of the cider mixture and beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture and beat until just incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Form the dough into 3/4-inch balls and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until golden brown, 9 to 11 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
Make the glaze: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and the remaining cider mixture in a small bowl until smooth. Spread the glaze on the cookies and top with the coarse sugar. Let set 30 minutes.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/glazed-cider-cookies-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback
Oatmeal Craisin Cookies
Ingredients
Original recipe makes 4 dozen
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups quick cooking oats
· 2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups dried cranberries
Directions
1. Beat butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla for 5 minutes. In another bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time.
2. Mix in craisins.
3. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets and bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). These freeze very well. Enjoy!!
Butter Ball Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar
Directions:
Cream butter, sugar, salt and vanilla.
Blend in flour and nuts.
Scoop and roll into balls.
Bake 325 for 22 to 25 minutes.
Remove from oven roll into powdered sugar. Roll again in powdered sugar next day.
Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Chips from Food Network Magazine
Ingredients
1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup additional to roll cookies
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
Chocolate chips to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Beat in egg to mixture. Mix in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Stir in salt, baking soda and flour until well combined. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then roll in sugar. Place on baking sheet and flatten with fork. Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Coconut Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups white whole-wheat or all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup virgin coconut oil (melted)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 10-oz. pkg. NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 10-oz. pkg. NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Butterscotch Morsels
Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
BEAT coconut oil in large mixer bowl until smooth. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract; beat until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels.
DROP by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. I like to use a small ice cream scoop so that all cookies are the same size.
BAKE for 9 to 12 minutes or until golden brown and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
Ingredients
½ cup smooth peanut butter
½ cup butter or margarine
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¼ cup flour
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Remove wrappers from Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and leave on a plate.
Cream peanut butter, margarine, sugars, egg, and vanilla together. Add dry ingredients. Mix well.
Roll into 40 small balls and place in mini-muffin tins that have been sprayed with no-fat cooking spray.
Bake 350 degress at 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and center is depressed; remove from oven.
Immediately place peanut butter cup in center of cookie.
Cool completely in muffin pan.
Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
30 Oreo cookies
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Cover oreo cookie with chocolate chip mix and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Chocolate Peppermint Patty Sandwich Cookies using a recipe from Kraft
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER’S Unsweetened Chocolate
1 cup butter or margarine
1-1/2
cups sugar, divided
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
22 Peppermint Patties
Directions
MIX flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add 1 cup sugar, egg and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour mixture until well blended. Refrigerate 15 min. or until dough is easy to handle.
HEAT oven to 375°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in remaining sugar. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets.
BAKE 8 to 10 min. or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets 1 min. Sandwich a Peppermint patty in between 2 cookies. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
Tags: chocolate chip cookie, cookies, recipes
- 2 comments
- Posted under Events, Recipes
January 2, 2014 It’s All About the Guest
“I’ve eaten a lot of sophisticated food in my time, but I still love a good hot dog.” That’s how the book starts, in chapter 1, appropriately named “Passion”. Steve DiFillippo’s new book, It’s All About the Guest: Exceeding Expectations in Business and in Life the Davio’s Way, is a page turner. The book talks about how at 24, DiFillippo bought his first restaurant and since then he has built a $50 million restaurant brand group.
At the end of every chapter there are “Restaurant Lessons to Live By”, summary points of the chapter:
If you don’t have a passion for eating and feeding people, don’t bother trying to become a restauranteur. You’ll never make it.
If you really do have a passion for something, then don’t waste time. Get cracking – everything else you need will fall into place.
Establishing trust is fundamental to all business relationships.
You don’t have to be perfect.
Addressing guest complaints should be a core part of any company’s service culture.
Listen to your guests and provide what they want – even if you don’t like it. But make sure that you stay true to your brand.
Skip the arrogance. People starting a business need all the help they can get. None of us knows it all.
Don’t be a jerk to your team members.
If your workplace could be a reality TV show, the friend, you are doing something wrong.
Take the time to bond with team members, not merely police their performance.
Speak out, stand up, raise your hand. Stirring the pot can benefit you in ways you never imagined.
Sometimes it takes a little while to learns from your mistakes. But until you do, mistakes keep happening.
Here are some recipes from the book:
Pasta Bolognese:
Cook 1/4 pound prosciutto, diced, in a large pot until crispy. Add one finely chopped garlic clove, one large diced onion, one diced carrot, and one or two diced celery stalks, and cook for 4 minutes.Then add 1 pound ground beef, 1 pound ground pork, and 1 pound veal and cook thoroughly, making sure that it is all mixed well. Add one bay leaf and cook ingredients together for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Next add in 2 (32 ounce) cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes that you’ve crushed by hand and reduce heat to low, bringing the mixture to a simmer. Leave it likes this for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, prepare 1 to 1/2 pounds of pasta according to the package direction (we love tagliatelle or rigatoni for this dish) add 2 ounces of pasta water to the bolognese sauce as well as 2 tablespoons of butter. Mix a small amount of the bolognese sauce into the cooked pasta, then top with the remaining sauce. Serve right away!
Potato Gnocchi:
This recipe makes 125 gnocchi, so make sure to invite some friends over. Boil 2 1/4 pounds russet potatoes until tender. Drain the water, ad then while the potatoes are still hot, peel and put them through a ricer. Set aside, and let them cool through and through. (Little tip: This can be done the day before.) On a large board form a “mountain” with the cooled and riced potatoes. Add 1 1/2 cups sifted flour, 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano cheese, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Make a hole at the top of the mountain and add 2 medium eggs into the whole. Working by band from the eggs out, begin mixing eggs with the potato and other ingredients until well blended. Cover the mixture with a slightly damp cloth or a bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.
Come back and roll the dough by hand into eight – 2 foot long rolls, about the size of a quarter in diameter. Then cut each roll into 1/2 inch pieces. Delicately dust the pieces with flour and place them in a plastic container. Make sure there’s only one layer per container and each piece has plenty of breathing room! Cover and freeze until ready to cook. (Another tip: Once gnocchi are frozen, they can be transferred into ziplock bags so you don’t have a bunch of plastic containers all piled up in your freezer. Oh, and gnocchi can be kept frozen up to 1 month.)
When you’re ready to cook, take some gnocchi out of the freezer and bring 12 quarts salted water to a rapid boil. Add your gnocchi and then cover and cook until the water return to a boil. I’s try using more than one pot when cooking, and I also advise that you cook only a handful of gnocchi at a time. If you jam too many together, you wind up with a watery potato soup! Now uncover the gnocchi and cook for an additional 2 minutes or until the gnocchi begins to float. Strain, add your favorite sauce, and serve immediately in a warm bowl.
Kobe Meatballs and Marinara Sauce:
You want meatballs? Okay, here goes. You need a good marinara sauce on hand in order to cook meatballs, so let’s start there.
Put 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (Monini preferred) in a saucepan and warm over medium heat. Then add 1/2 cup finely chopped Spanish onion and saute until translucent. Add 3 finely chopped cloves fresh garlic and cook until the garlic is a light golden color. Whatever you do, don’t overcook the garlic! The add 1 cup white wine to deglaze the pan. Continue to cook the garlic until the liquid is reduced by half, about 3 – 4 minutes. Next, pour in 4 (28 ounce) cans of San Marzano tomatoes that you’ve crushed by hand. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a boil, stir, and reduce heat to a simmer. Let the sauce simmer uncovered for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and 1/4 cup chiffonade fresh basil leaves. Congratulations: You now have some killer sauce to work with.
Next come the meatballs. In a large bowl soak 1 loaf of stale bread, broken into small pieces, in 2 cups of whole milk for 2 hours. Over medium-high heat, saute 1 diced white onion and 2 diced cloves garlic. Add the sauteed onions and garlic to the soaked bread and cobine with 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (Monini preferred), 2 pounds ground Kobe beef, 2 pounds ground veal, 2 pounds ground pork, 1/2 cup grated Parmigano cheese, 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese, 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 cup chopped basil and 6 whole eggs. Mix all this stuff together, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, take the bowl out of the refrigerator and form the mixture into approximately 20 (3 ounce) balls. Over medium – high heat in a large pan, cook the meatballs in 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil for 10 minutes making sure that the meatballs are spread out i the pan and don’t touch one another. Turn them often so they don’t burn. Remove the meatballs from the pan and cool. Place the cooled meatballs in another large pan and cover them with 3/4 of a gallon of the marinara sauce you made earlier. Wrap the pan with plastic wrap, and refrigerate it overnight. The next day, cook the meatballs and the sauce for at least 3 hours at 325 degrees before serving.
Warm Chocolate Cake:
It’s easy to forget to preheat the oven, so make sure to do that first. A full 375 degrees, with a high fan on. Noe, take 12 1/2 cups aluminum tins and coat well with nonstick spray and flour. Grab a 9 1/2 ounce bag of bittersweet chocolate (I use 60/40 Callebaut) and pour it into a mixing bowl – we’ll need this in just a second. Melt 10 1/2 ounces of unsalted butter and pout it over chocolate to melt it. In another large mixing bowl, sift 5 1/4 ounces of pastry flour and 10 1/2 ounces confectioners sugar together. Add in 6 whole eggs and 6 egg yolks and mix until smooth. Then combine the flour/sugar bowl with the chocolate/butter bowl – stir and stir until homogenous. Deposit the chocolatey goodness into the prepared tins and then put the tins into the over. Bake approximately 10 minutes or until the edges are set. When you remove the cakes from the oven, let them sit briefly so that they unmold on their own.
Check out Steve’s book for more stories and additional recipes. It’s All About the Guest can be found at bookstores and at Amazon.
**Disclaimer – I was provided with a copy of the book, all opinions are strictly my own. I was not compensated in any other way for writing this post.
Tags: italian, recipes, restaurant
April 19, 2011 Giada’s stuffed peppers
I went out last month and a friend made these for a party she was throwing. Super delicious, so simple to make. She mentioned that it was one of “Giada’s” recipes. So I immediately went home to try out a batch of my own. I couldn’t find baby peppers, so mine were a little bit bigger than what the recipe called for. The smaller peppers are better because otherwise, it’s just too much filling-you want these to be bite sized! Also, I love pancetta, so I made my peppers with slightly larger, diced pieces instead of “thinly sliced pieces”-note that if you are going to do it the way I did, hold off on the additional salt.
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/2 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 24 (2 to 3-inch long) sweet baby peppers
Directions
Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray and set aside.
In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently, until brown and crispy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and drain on paper towels. Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the onion, pancetta, cheeses, and peas. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Using a paring knife, cut 1/2-inch from the stem-end of the peppers. Remove the seeds and veins. Using a small dessert spoon, fill each pepper with the ricotta mixture. Place the filled peppers on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the peppers begin to soften. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.
Arrange the peppers on a platter and serve.
Tags: recipes
- Leave a comment
- Posted under Recipes
A Little Bit About a Lot of Things 