Made these in a class the other night. These are really tasty. Substantial enough to make a meal if served with a salad.   

Cheesy Onion Garlic Bread

 

2 French baguettes, cut into 3/4 inch diagonal slices

1 large minced onion

8 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup butter

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

Preheat the broiler. Slice the French baguettes diagonally into 3/4 inch slices.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Combine the onions and garlic in the skillet. Cook and stir until tender. Set aside to cool. In a mixing bowl, combine the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and mayonnaise. On a cookie sheet, arrange the French bread slices in a single layer. Spread the onion and garlic mixture on the bread slices. Spread the cheese and mayonnaise mixture over the onion and garlic mixture on the bread slices. Broil about 5 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Serve immediately.

If you are looking for a slightly different ice cream for summer you might think about spicing it up. I added lavender blossoms to my strawberry ice cream but you can get creative and add other seasonings to make it special. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, basil, lemon peel can all add interest to your frozen desserts. Open your mind up to experimenting and see what you can come up with. I made this the other day and wanted to share the recipe with you.  Can’t wait to make it again.

 

 

Strawberry Lavender Ice Cream

2 c. chopped strawberries

1 c. sugar

1 T. lavender blossoms

1 T. vanilla

2 c. cream or  half and half or a combination. You can also use some milk or even almond or rice milk.

Additional sugar to taste

Place strawberries, lavender, vanilla  and sugar in saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and chill. Combine chilled berry mixture with cream. Add additional sugar if you like. Remember that once it is frozen the ice cream will not taste as sweet so make this mixture a little sweeter than you want the final product to be. How much sugar you add varies with personal taste and how sweet the berries are. Place in an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s directions. Once finished put in an sir- tight container and place in freezer. Makes about 1 quart.

Here are the recipes I did for New Day Cleveland.

 Chicken and Asparagus with Fresh Herbs

 

1 lb. chicken, sliced into thin strips

2 T. sherry

2 T.oil

2 c. chopped fresh asparagus

¼-½ c. fresh chopped herbs, I used chives, parsley and lovage

Salt and pepper to taste

Place sliced chicken in a bowl and stir in the sherry. Cover and refrigerate for 2-24 hours. Heat oil in skillet. Sauté asparagus for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring often until no pink is visible on the chicken, about 4 minutes. Add the herbs and seasonings and cook, stirring often for another 2-3 minutes. Spoon chicken over lilac salad. Serves 3-4.

 

Lilac Salad

 

4-6 cups mixed salad greens, washed and spun dry

Olive oil

Lilac vinegar*

Salt and pepper to taste

Edible flowers, optional

 

Place greens in a salad bowl. Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss until leaves look glossy. Drizzle with a little lilac vinegar and toss. Season with salt and pepper and toss again. Add flowers, if desired and place in serving bowls.

 

* To make lilac vinegar take clean, organic lilac blossoms and place them in a jar. Pour in red wine vinegar to cover flowers completely. Place lid on jar and store at room temp, out of direct sunlight for at least a few days. The longer the blossoms steep in the vinegar the stronger the flavor you will get. You can use any vinegar you like as long as it is 5% acidity. Before using, strain out the blossoms and discard. Strain vinegar through a coffee filter to get out any sediment. Can be stored at room temp but holds it color longer if stored in the fridge.

 

Lavender Shortbread

 

1 c. sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

2 c. butter

4 c. flour

2-3 T. lavender blossoms

Cream together the one-cup of sugar and butter. Stir in the flour and lavender blossoms. Press mixture in to a greased 9×13 inch-baking dish. Cut or score into small squares, or on the diagonal for diamond shapes. Sprinkle with extra sugar and bake in a preheated 300-degree oven for 50-55 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Re-cut the squares as soon as you remove the shortbread from the oven. Cool before removing from pan. Make about 100 small squares

I did my cooking demo on New Day Cleveland this morning. All the cast and crew were great to work with. Thanks to Carl Skalak from Blue Pike Farm for the purple asparagus. It worked out perfectly with the chicken and herbs. Carl tells me he still has some for sale. Here is the link so you can watch the show.

 

http://fox8.com/2013/05/09/may-9-2013-2/

It’s a popular dessert at Italian restaurants and always a hit when made at home. It is so loved by a friend of mine I make it for her birthday every year. Luxurious and truly a spectacular dessert. Most of the work is just making the egg custard. The rest is just about assembly. If you never made your own tiramisu before maybe now is the time to try it.

Classic Tiramisu

5 egg yolks

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. Marsala wine (not cooking wine)

1 c. whipping cream

2 T. sugar

1 lb. mascarpone cheese- Italian cream cheese- available in most larger grocery stores

2 c. strong coffee, room temp.

2 T. sugar

1/2 c. brandy

1 T. vanilla

48 ladyfingers*

3 T. cocoa

 

Make zabaglione (egg custard). In double boiler, over simmering water, beat together egg yolks and sugar until lemon colored. Stir in Marsala and continue cooking, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and will mound on a spoon. This will take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool down. You can place in bowl in fridge 30 minutes or so. Beat together whipping cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Beat in mascarpone and chilled zabaglione. Chill 1 hour. Stir together coffee with remaining sugar, brandy and vanilla and set aside. Assemble tiramisu by placing 16 of the ladyfingers in the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan. Drizzle about 1/3 of the coffee mixture over the ladyfingers, about 1 tablespoon each. Top with 1/3 of the cream mixture and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of the cocoa. Repeat this process 2 more times until all ingredients are used. Chill until ready to serve. Serves 12.

* There are 2 types of ladyfingers in stores- soft and crisp. Either will work but I prefer the crisp ones I find at a local Italian market. The crisp ones are also bigger.

Since the lilacs are in bloom I decided to preserve some of them and make lilac vinegar. As long as they are grown where chemicals haven’t been sprayed lilacs blossoms are edible. I just place clean blossoms in a jar and cover with red wine vinegar.* Put a lid on the jar and store in a cupboard for 10 days or longer. When ready to use, strain out the blossoms and discard them. Pour the vinegar through a coffee filter to get out any remaining plant material. Use in salad dressings and marinades. You can transfer the lilac vinegar to a decorative bottle. It can be stored at room temperature but will hold its color longer if kept cool, even refrigerated.

* always use vinegar that is 5% acidity. You can use white wine vinegar, cider vinegar or whatever vinegar you like.

This is one of the cheesecakes we will be having in my cheesecake class in Mentor tonight. No baking so a great dessert choice for summer.

Frozen Mocha Cheesecake

1 ¼ c. chocolate cookie crumbs

¼ c. sugar

¼ c. butter or margarine, softened

8 oz. cream cheese

1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 c. chocolate syrup

2 T. instant coffee crystals

1 t. hot water

1 c. whipping cream, whipped

 

Combine crumbs, sugar and butter and press into 9-inch springform pan. Chill. Beat cheese until fluffy and beat in milk. Stir in syrup and dissolve coffee in water. Add to cheese mixture and fold in whipped cream. Pour into prepared crust and freeze until solid, at least 6 hours. Garnish with additional cookie crumbs if you like or with shaved chocolate. Keep leftovers frozen and use within a week for best flavor.

I love the taste of homemade pasta but I don’t make it often enough. I particularly like the colors and tastes of veggie pastas. Some tine back I would make a variety of veggie pastas and then take small bits of each and roll them together with some plain pasta. Veggie pastas are sometimes a little softer than egg pasta and benefit from being mixed together for strength and ease of rolling.

As you roll the dough out the colors blend together and create what I call rainbow pasta. Use sheets of the dough to make rainbow ravioli. The students in last night’s class really made some lovely pasta with the assortment we had. As usual I got so busy I only took a few pictures.

I often use a food processor to make pasta dough, especially the vegetable pastas because I am using vegetables that need to be pureed, pretty much. I have a small one which is perfect for small batches, no more than 1 cup of flour. I often use my stand mixer for larger and for plain dough. Always best to make pasta dough at least 30 minutes ahead and let it rest. even make it the day before and chill until ready to use.

Basic Homemade Pasta

 3 c. flour, more if using electric pasta machine. See note.

1 1/2 t. salt

4 eggs

Water, if needed

 

Mix flour and salt and stir in eggs, kneading until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be very stiff. Add a little water if needed to hold dough together. You may wish to mix the dough in a mixer or food processor. Cover dough and let rest 15-20 minutes before rolling. Under kneading your dough will result in coarse, crumbly pasta. This batch makes about 1 pound. Serves 4-6.

Roll dough out on well floured board or in pasta machine (non-electric) until desired thickness in reached. Add flour as needed to prevent sticking. Cut into strips or whatever shapes are desired. You might want to let the noodles dry 1-hour or more before cooking, but this is not necessary. Pasta can be hung to dry or separated and allowed to dry flat on a table. When pasta is not hanging to dry it must be turned occasionally to dry evenly.      Although you may hear otherwise, homemade pasta, even when dried, should be frozen for long term storage. Storing at room temperature can lead to spoilage. Fresh pasta can also be stored in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Note: All electric pasta machines vary slightly and you should use their recipes as much as possible. Still, for most models, adding 1/4 c. flour for each cup in a hand rolled recipe works the best. Also recipes that contain seeds and vegetables may clog an electric pasta maker. Follow your manufacturer’s instructions.

These are smaller batches which can be mixed in a processor or by hand. If you want to mix a vegetable based pasta by hand, puree the vegetables first.

                                                                 Whole Wheat Pasta

 1 c. whole wheat flour

1 egg

1 t. oil

1-2 T. water, if needed

 

Sesame Pasta

These are great in Asian dishes.

1 c. flour

1 T. sesame oil

1/4 – 1/3 c. water, as needed

Curry Pasta

1 c. flour

1 t. curry powder

1 egg

1-2 T. water, if needed

Carrot Pasta

 1 c. flour

1/2 t. dried dill

1/3 c. carrot puree

1-2 T. water, if needed

   Beet Pasta

1 c. flour

1/2 t. dill

1/3 c. beet puree

1-2 T. water, if needed

Spinach Pasta

2 c. flour

1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, cooked, drained, reserving some of the liquid

Mix this dough as for other pastas, but don’t be too quick to add reserved liquid. While kneading you’ll get water out of the spinach. May require more kneading and rolling than other pasta doughs. Be patient, it’s worth the work.

Broccoli Pasta

1 c. flour

1/2 c. broccoli puree

 Ravioli Filling

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

2/3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

2/3 c. ricotta or cream cheese

1/3 c. grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Combine all ingredients well and chill until needed.

Roll a batch of dough into  a rectangle, 18×12 inches and 1/16 inch thick. Arrange well rounded teaspoonfuls of the  cheese filling two inches apart on the pasta sheet. Roll out additional dough into an 18×12 inch rectangle. With a pastry brush moisten bottom sheet of pasta around edges with water. Place second sheet of pasta on top, using fingers to seal the dough around the edges of the filling. With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, cut between the ravioli to separate them. You should have 24 ravioli.

 

 

On Thursday, May 9^th I’ll be doing a cooking demonstration on New Day Cleveland. It’s on channel 8 (Fox)  and airs from 10-11 am. Still working on the recipe I will be making that day.