Apricot Chutney

I made this chutney to go with a chicken liver terrine recipe. I found this recipe on the Web and wrote it down on paper. Now I can't find it.



2 t. olive oil
1 red onion, medium, coarsely chopped
1 T. finely grated fresh ginger
1/4 c. brandy
2 c. water
3/4 c. cider
30 g. diced dried apricots
3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
Handful of raisins (my addition)

Heat oil on low in a sauce pan and add the onion and ginger. Cook 10 minutes or until the onion is soft.


Add the brandy, cook 3 minutes; or until liquid has been absorbed.

Add the water, cider, apricot, sugar, and raisins. Stir, reduce to low, simmer 40 to 60 minutes until the mixture has reduced and thickened.


Transfer to a clean dry jar, fill with the chutney, cover; invert for 2 minutes.

Set aside to cool.

Chicken Liver Terrine

This is a recipe from my Mom, Dorothy Rosario. It takes a little time to put together, but it's a delicious terrine. Serve it with an apricot chutney (found here on my blog) and crusty slices of bread.


Ingredients:

1 lb fresh chicken livers, cleaned
1/2 c. port wine
1/2 t. dried thyme
4 bay leaves
1 lb. sausage meat (ground pork; or a combination of pork and veal)
1 slice bread
Enough milk to soak the bread
1 egg
1.2 c. dry white wine
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
Freshly ground pepper
1 slice ham, thick cut, about 5.5 ounces
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
Pistachio nuts - a handful, chopped
1/2 lb. thin slices of bacon (pound them if they are too thick)

Marinade the chicken livers with the port, thyme, and 2 bay leaves (crumbled) in a bowl. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Reserve 1/4 of the chicken livers. Place the rest through a food processor with the ham and coarsely chop.

Chop the onion and garlic.

In a large bowl, add the ground pork, the liver/ham mixture, bread, wine, garlic, pepper, pistachio nuts, and onions. Mix with a large spoon.

Line the bottom and sides of a terrine dish, meatloaf pan or 7" square pan with the bacon.


Add 1/2 of the meat mixture into the pan.

Layer the middle with the reserved livers (coarsely chopped). Top with slices of bacon and the two bay leaves.


Cover the pan with tin foil or with lid. Place in a pan of hot water 1/2 way up the sides and bake at 375 degrees for 1.5 hours, or until the center reads 150 degrees.

When out of the oven, place a weight* on top of the terrine and pour off the excess juice. Cool, keep covered, and refrigerate overnight. Three to five days is much better.


*For the weight (I use a curved terrine), I wrap in tinfoil a cardboard piece, lay it on top of the terrine, and weigh down with soup cans. This is weighed down overnight.

To Serve: I used French bread and toasted them, which were lightly brushed with olive oil. Serve with my apricot chutney recipe.

Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork Sandwiches

4/12/2010: This is a recipe I found on the foodnetwork (a Tyler Florence recipe), which I adapted. I made this for lunch for 11 people yesterday.

What I did or didn’t do:

- I didn’t marinate the pork at all and found it unnecessary.
- I placed the pork in the oven (covered tightly with tin foil) just as I turned it on.
- Roasted for 5 hours 45 minutes (came out perfect!)
- Removed the excess fat before shredding with two forks.
- Used store bought BBQ sauce and docker-ed it up with a spicy marinade (Sweet Baby Ryan's BBQ sauce and Stubb's pork marinade
- Cooked the day before
- Added to a crock pot the morning of the luncheon and heated on low for 2 hours. Added some of the pork liquid from the pan (previously placed in a pot in the refrigerator, skimmed the fat off the top).
- I added the BBQ sauce just enough to coat the meat and had extra sauce on the side for people to add to their taste.
- Served with my favorite Claussen Kosher dill pickle spears.
- 8 pounds serves 14-15 people.


Oven-Roasted Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Serves 12

Dry Rub:
3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons coarse salt (I used 2 T.)
I added: 1 t. onion powder (I actually had dried onions and placed in a food processor to mince), 1 T. thyme, 1 t. cayenne pepper

1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt (I used 8 pounds shoulder)

Cider Vinegar Barbecue Sauce:

1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 cup yellow or brown mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

12 hamburger buns (I used Martin's potato buns)
1 recipe Spicy Slaw (didn’t make)
Pickle spears

Mix the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, and salt together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate for as long as you have time for, as little as 1 hour or up to overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Put the pork in a roasting pan and bake for about 6 hours. Basically, roast the pork until it's falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170 degrees F.

To make the barbecue sauce: combine the vinegar, mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer gently, stirring, for 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves.

Remove the pork roast from the oven and transfer to a large platter. Allow the meat to rest for about 10 minutes.

While still warm, take 2 forks and "pull" the meat to form shreds. Using 2 forks, shred the pork by steadying the meat with 1 fork and pulling it away with the other.



Put the shredded pork in a bowl.



Pour 1/2 of the sauce on the shredded pork and mix well to coat.

To serve, spoon the pulled pork mixture onto the bottom 1/2 of the hamburger bun, and top with the spicy slaw. Serve with pickle spears and the remaining sauce on the side.

8/2/10: I made this again, but used my crock pot.

Old Bay Onion Pie

25 March 2010: This is a recipe my friend Anne made. I hosted a dinner party and the food theme was “Maryland Recipes”. A group of us meets once a month, usually at someone's home. Her comments are in [ ].

Old Bay Onion Pie

3 Tbsp. butter [I used a little less]
6 medium onions, peeled and sliced [I used half the onions]
1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 tsp. Salt
[Pepper]
1-1/2 Cups Milk
5 Eggs, beaten
1 Pie shell, 9"
2 Tbsp. Parsley
12 Slices Bacon, crumbled [I use about 8-9 slices]

[I took an idea from Julia Child & sprinkled about 1/4 cup grated swiss cheese on top]

- Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and sauté onions, Old Bay, and salt [and pepper] over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

- Drain. Add milk and stir in eggs.

- Pour mixture in pie shell. Top with parsley and bacon [and grated swiss cheese].

- Bake for 50 minutes [40 minutes] until done.



I used my mom's pie crust recipe:

1 generous cup flour, sifted with with a scant tsp. of salt.

Use a knife & fork to cut in 1/2 cup solid Crisco.

Add 1/4 Cup liquid: 1/2 orange juice and 1/2 water.

Gently fold/smush together into a ball. Don't overhandle.

Roll out and place in pie plate.

Fill. Bake.

{This was reheated at 350° for 25 minutes before serving. This was delicious! Using a ready-made pie crust will cut your time in the kitchen.}

White Chocolate Cashew Brownies

This is a recipe I made (Feb 2010) for my rotation dinner group. Everyone loved it and I didn't have any leftovers! The theme was food and drink from South Africa, in honor of the World Cup.


4 Ounces Butter
2 Cups Brown Sugar
2 Medium Eggs -- Beaten
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1-1/4 Cups Flour
* 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Cup White Chocolate Chunks
1 Cup Toasted Cashews -- Chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9X12 pan.

Melt butter and add brown sugar. Stir well. Allow to cool.

Add eggs, vanilla, flour and baking powder. Blend well.

Fold in chocolate and nuts.

Pour into pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Cool for 20 minutes and serve.

Serves 10

Cheesecake Brownies

Cheesecake Brownies

I made these brownies recently and they were a hit.

1 package (21 oz.) dark brownie mix; prepare batter according to directions
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a 9" x 13" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray (Next time I will add parchment paper to the bottom).

Pour half of the brownie batter into the baking pan.

In a medium-sized bowl, with an electric beater on medium speed, combine the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy.

Spoon over the brownie batter, then top with the remaining half of the brownie batter.

Take a knife and swirl through the batter to create a marbled effect.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool, cut into bars and serve.

Quiche Lorraine

This is a recipe by Craig Claiborne, in the New York Times Cook Book. I have four NY Times cook books, which I love. Many are classic dishes. This is an excellent quiche Lorraine, which comes out light and fluffy.

1 9” Pie crust
4 slices of bacon
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup of Gruyere cheese, cubed
¼ cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
4 Eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups of heavy cream
¼ teaspoon of Nutmeg
½ teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of white pepper

Preheat oven to 450F.

Line a nine-inch pie plate with pastry and bake 5 minutes. (I used a frozen ready-made 9" pastry).

Cook the bacon until crisp and remove it from the skillet. Pour off the fat from the skillet, reserving 1 Tbs. Cook the onion in the remaining fat until onion is transparent.

Crumble the bacon and sprinkle the bacon, onion and cheese over the inside of the partly baked pastry.

Combine the eggs, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper and strain over the onion-cheese mixture.

Bake the pie 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350F and bake until a knife inserted 1-inch from the edge comes out clean, about 10 minutes longer.

Serve immediately.
Serves 6 to 8.

Notes: I used half of an onion, thinly sliced. I also added 5 slices of bacon. The quiche actually took longer than the recipe stated (about 15 minutes at 350F).

25 July 10: I made this again this morning and used turkey bacon. I also added a small amount of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained), which I added to the onions when cooking. I also used 1-3/4 cup heavy cream instead of 2 cups.

Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Sausage Breakfast Casserole

This is a recipe I found on a blog site called Simply Recipes. I made this for brunch (Dec 08) for the rotation dinner group I belong to. It was very good and it went fast! I added the 1/2 cup of mushrooms, but 1 cup would have been better.


1 lb of Italian pork sausage, (then cooked, drained, crumbled) I used a combination of sweet and
hot Italian sausage
4 1/2 cups cubed day old bread
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
10 eggs slightly beaten
4 cups whole milk
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
1/2 cup peeled, chopped tomatoes (optional)

1 Heat a skillet on medium high. Break up the sausage into chunks and cook, working in batches if need be, until browned all around. Make sure the chunks of sausage have some space around them or your meat will steam and not brown. Remove the cooked sausage from the pan and let sit on some paper towels on a plate to soak up the excess fat. Crumble into smaller pieces.

2 Place bread in a well-buttered 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine the eggs, milk, dry mustard, onion powder and pepper. Pour evenly over the bread and cheese. Sprinkle sausage and optional ingredients over the top.

3 At this stage you can cover and chill overnight, if you want to prepare ahead. If not, let sit for 10 minutes before putting in the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake uncovered for about one hour. Tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly.

Serves 6-8.

Cream of Artichoke and Mushroom Soup

I made the following soup for a rotation dinner this past weekend. The recipe calls for chopping the artichoke and mushrooms, but I decided to puree the soup. I also preferred it chilled. This recipe is adapted from Recipezaar.com. I also revised the serving from 4 to 12 people for the rotation dinner. This made a large batch and could have served up to 20 at a party. 

Cream of Artichoke and Mushroom Soup 

20 ounces mushrooms 

1 clove garlic, chopped 

3 bunches green onions, chopped 

1 stick butter 

1/4 olive oil 

1/2 cup flour 

6 cups chicken broth 

3 (14 ounce) cans artichoke hearts 

1-1/2 teaspoons salt 

Black pepper to taste

4 cups half and half cream 

Splash Sherry 

1/4 c. white wine 

Drain artichoke hearts and chop into small pieces. Set aside. 

Thinly slice the mushrooms. I used a food processor to finely chop the mushrooms.

Finely chop green onion, including tops. 

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add the oil. Sauté the onions, garlic, and mushrooms for about 5 minutes.

Slowly add the flour and cook slowly for two minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly add the broth, and then the artichokes, salt and pepper. Puree the soup in batches. 

I pulled out another large pot to put the pureed soup into. 

Once done, add the half and half, sherry and wine and cook on low for 5 minutes or so.

Vichyssoise A La Ritz

I recently made an artichoke and mushroom soup (see above), which I enjoyed eating it chilled. It reminded me of the vichyssoise I used to make. The recipe I use comes from the New York Times Cookbook. It's a classic cookbook that every cook should have on his or her book shelf.

Here's the recipe:

Vichyssoise A La Ritz
The New York Times Cookbook, edited by Craig Claiborne, 1961
(8 or more servings)

4 leeks, white part, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1/4 cup sweet butter
5 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
1 quart chicken broth
1 tablespoon or less salt
3 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
Chopped chives

1. In a deep kettle, brown the leeks and onion very lightly in the butter. Add the potatoes, broth and salt and boil thirty-five minutes, or until very tender. Crush and rub through a fine sieve or puree in an electric blender.

2. Return the sieved mixture to the kettle, add the milk and one cup of the cream and bring to a boil. Cool and rub again through a fine sieve. Chill

3. Add the remaining cream. Chill thoroughly and serve garnished with chives.

Red Caviar Dip

1 8-oz package of cream cheese, room temperature

5 T. Sour cream

2 T. Chives, fresh, chopped

2 oz. Red Caviar, drained

French baguette, sliced

In a bowl, combine the cream cheese and sour cream. Fold in the chives.

GENTLY fold in the caviar until combined. 

Transfer to serving bowl. 

Chill in the refrigerator (covered w/saran wrap) before serving. 

Simple, elegant, and a crowd-pleaser! 

Note: This is a recipe from the New York Times International Cookbook and is a recipe from Norway, which I adapted. Enjoy! Monica

Baked Brie with Preserves

This is a very easy recipe to make and takes only minutes.

Take a round of brie and trim off the excess covering.

Place the brie on a microwave-proof dish. Top the brie with your favorite preserves. I like the dark berries, such as black raspberry.

Microwave for about 30-45 seconds or until the cheese has become soft. Keep a close watch on the cheese so that it doesn't over 'melt.'

Serve with a French baguette, sliced.

Serves 8.

Note: You can also wrap the brie and preserve in a puff pastry, seam-side down onto a lightly greased baking pan, and brushed with an egg wash (bring to room temperature). Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Basil Cheese Spread

6 fresh basil leaves
3 medium cloves garlic
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
Fresh basil leaves for garnish

In food processor, process basil and garlic until finely chopped. Add cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, walnuts, and olive oil; process until smooth.

Transfer spread mixture to a serving bowl and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Serve with assorted crackers.

Rosemary Cheese w/Fig Preserves

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (3 oz.) log goat cheese, softened
1. T chopped fresh rosemary
2. tsp honey
1 tsp coarsely ground pepper (or a dash of cayenne)
3/4 c. fig preserves

Process first 5 ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 1-1/2 c. mold lined with plastic wrap. Cover and chill 2 hours. Invert cheese mixture onto a serving dish; discard plastic wrap. Spoon fig preserves over cheese.

Serve w/ baguette or crackers.

Hot Crab Dip

3 T. unsalted butter
2 medium shallots, minced
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. Old Bay
1 ¼ tsp. dry mustard
¾ c. half and half
8 oz. cream cheese
4 oz. sharp white Cheddar, grated
3 T. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
10 oz. lump crabmeat
½ c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ c. breadcrumbs
½ tsp. paprika

Preheat oven to 400 with the rack in the center. Melt 2 T. butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until soft, 2 minutes. Add T. of water and simmer for 30 seconds. Stir in the cayenne, Old Bay, and dry mustard until well combined. Pour the half and half into the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Slowly whisk in the cream cheese, a few pieces at a time. When the cream cheese is fully incorporated, whisk in the Cheddar a bit at a time. Stir the mixture for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add lemon juice and Worcestershire and stir. Add the crabmeat and half of the parsley and stir.

Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof baking dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Dot the top with remaining butter. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the bread pieces are golden and dip is hot. Garnish with remaining parsley and serve with baguette or crackers.

Garlic Cheese Fondue

14 oz. Swiss cheese, grated
6 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated
2 T. flour
1 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. ground white pepper
1 cup. white wine
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 french-bread baguette, crust left on,bread cut into 1 inch cubes

Combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl and toss to coat.

Add the wine and garlic to the fondue pot and turn heat on to simmer. Slowly add small amounts of the cheese mixture and stir until melted. Keeping adding the cheese until all is combined and smooth. Add another tablespoon or so of wine, if necessary.

Serve with the cubed bread.

Cheese Fondue with Champagne

4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-1/4 cups dry champagne (brut)
1 large shallot, chopped
7 ounces coarsely grated gruyere cheese
5 ounces coarsely grated emmenthaler cheese
3 ounces diced rindless brie cheese or camembert cheese
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch white pepper
1 french-bread baguette, crust left on,bread cut into 1 inch cubes

Stir cornstarch and lemon juice in small bowl until cornstarch dissolves; set aside.

Combine Champagne and shallot in fondue pot, simmer over medium heat 2 minutes. Turn off heat.

Add all cheeses and stir to combine. Stir in cornstarch mixture.

Return fondue pot to medium heat and stir until cheeses are melted and smooth and fondue thickens and boils, about 10 minutes. Season fondue with nutmeg and white pepper.

Keep fondue pot on low/simmer setting.

Serve with bread cubes.

Note: I used a teflon style fondue pot.

Black Caviar Dip

My Mom's cousin Grace made this years ago and I've always wanted to make it. I did back in 2005 and a few times since then. I love the combination of flavors of the caviar and sour cream.

1 large round bread

2 cups sour cream (maybe a little more or less, depending on the size of the bread)
3 boiled eggs; yolks and whites chopped separately
1/8 cup chopped red onion
Black lump caviar (or red), just one small jar, drained
1 baguette

Carefully carve out the center of the bread, keeping approximately 1/2" thickness. Cut the bread, which has been removed, into cubes. Cube the baguette.

Layer in the bread the sour cream, and then the caviar. Place the egg whites in a ring at the outer edge of the bread, followed by the yolks, and red onion.

Serve with the cubed bread.

10-12 Servings.

Black Bean Dip

1 15.5 oz. can Black Beans
1 Large Roma tomato, diced
1 t. Lemon juice
Dash hot sauce
2 T. Red onion, chopped
1 Small clove garlic, chopped
1/4 t. Cumin
1 t. Cilantro, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all in a food processor and process until almost smooth, leaving it a little chunky.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Serves 4-5

Chicken Salad Finger Sandwiches

2 12.5-oz. cans chicken meat, white breast, drained
2-3 T. Mayonnaise
1 t. mustard
2 t. bluecheese dressing
Chopped green onion
2 T. red onion, chopped
1 t. fresh tarragon, chopped
2 t. fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup sliced almonds
Salt and pepper to taste
Baby greens
Whole wheat bread slices

Combine all ingredients. Prepare sandwiches topping with the baby greens; cut into 4's on the diagonal. Makes approx. 10 sandwiches or 40 finger sandwiches. Serves 8-10.

Note: The measurements for the mayonnaise, mustard, and bluecheese dressing are approximates since I made a large batch. Add slowly until you get the consistancy you'd like.