Asparagus in Puff Pastry with Hollandaise Sauce
1 bunch of Asparagus
1 sheet of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry
3 T. melted butter
Hollandaise Sauce
3 egg yolks (room temperature)
1 T. Cold Water
1 T. lemon juice
1 ½ sticks of butter
Blanch the asparagus in simmering water to al dente. Chop into 1” pieces and set aside. Meanwhile cut squares of puff pastry and then cut the “open” squares to build the walls of the pastry. Glue together w/ melted butter. Brush the pastries w/ the rest of the melted butter and bake in a 425 degree oven for 12-15 min. or until golden brown.
For the sauce: In a double boiler whisk the egg yolks until well blended and sticky. Whisk in the cold water and lemon juice. Continue whisking over simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the hot water). Gradually whisk in all the butter until the sauce becomes thick and glossy.
Add the dried asparagus pieces to the inside of the pastries and pour 2-3 T. of hollandaise sauce over the top. Serve.
Brie with Cranberry Sauce in Puff Pastry
One sheet of puff pastry, thawed but still cool
1 can of whole cranberry sauce
1 T. (or more) Cointreau
1/2 cup toasted, chopped pecans
1 (5-6") round of Brie
4 T. butter, melted
Warm the cranberry sauce in a heavy bottomed saucepan until simmering; add Cointreau and pecans. Stir together and cool. Place ~ 1/2 cup of the mixture on top of the Brie round. Place the Brie on top of the Puff pastry. Pull the pastry up around the brie and cranberry mixture and seal. Brush the pastry with a little melted butter. Bake in a 350 degree oven until brown.
Cheese Buttons
(A great recipe for a Lady's night, a shower or tea time!)
2 sticks of butter, softened
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2 cups sifted flour
2 cups Rice Krispies
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Cream butter and cheese. Sift the flour and pepper over the butter/cheese mixture. Gently stir in the Rice Krispies. Form the dough into small balls and place them on a cookie sheet, flattening them with a fork. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 18-20 min. until lightly browned.
Corn Crepes with Shrimp and Green Chilies
1 ½ lbs. medium sized shrimp, peeled and deveined and diced
2 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
For the Sauce:
2 T. butter
8 oz. chopped green chilies
½ cup minced green onions, green part only
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Crepes:
1 ¼ cup milk
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
2 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp sugar
Salt
2 T. butter melted
For the Crepes:
Combine milk, cornmeal, eggs, four, sugar, salt and melted butter. Let stand for 20 min.
Heat a 6” crepe pan. Brush w/ more butter. Stir batter one more time and ladle ~3 T. in to the pan and swirl the pan to spread evenly. Flip when the crepes get brown around the edges and cook ~15 sec more. Repeat w/ remaining batter.
If the crepes are too thin, they will not roll properly so adjust the amount of batter as needed.
For the Sauce:
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan. Add chilies, green onions and garlic; sauté until soft. Whisk in the flour and cook for ~3 min. Whisk in the broth and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce is smooth ~3 min. Add cream and simmer 2 min more. Stir in sour cream, salt and pepper and remove from heat. Set aside.
Assembly:
Combine shrimp, 1 cup sauce and 1 cup cheese. Butter 9x13” baking dish. Spoon ~2T. shrimp mixture into each crepe and roll up. Place in the baking dish and pour remaining sauce on top then the rest of the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Garnish w/ chopped green onions.
Crab Goat Cheese Cheesecake with Mango Cream Sauce
And Mango Jalapeño Chutney
Cheesecake:
24 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. goat cheese
1 lb. lump crab meat
2 eggs
½ cup heavy cream
2 tsp. Kosher salt
½ tsp. white pepper
½ small onion, minced
½ tsp. minced garlic
1 small bunch chives, minced (do not use green onion tops)
2 T. olive oil
Crust:
1 round of Ritz crackers, crumbled
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
Make a crust by mixing the crackers crumbs with the melted butter and pressing onto the bottom of a 9” spring-form pan. Wrap the pan with foil extending the foil 1” above the top of the pan. (The cheesecake will be baked in a water bath and this will prevent any leakage into the cake.)
Sauté the onion, garlic and chives with the olive oil in a small skillet until completely cooked through. Cool. Cream the goat cheese and cream cheeses together. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until completely incorporated. Add the salt, pepper and sautéed vegetables and mix. Add enough cream while the mixture is blending so that the cheese pulls away slightly from the sides of the bowl; blend another 3-5 minutes. Pour the cheesecake batter into a very large bowl. Place lump crabmeat on top of the mixture and VERY gently fold the crab into the cheesecake. Place the batter in the spring-form pan and then into a 10-12” cake pan filled with hot water. (The spring-form should have water going ½ -way up the sides of the pan)
Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for ~1 hour. The center should still jiggle a bit when you pull the cake out of the oven. Take the cake out of the water bath and allow it to cool at least 2 hours. Refrigerate overnight. ANY cheesecake can be frozen and served later…in fact they are better when they are a couple of days old.
Mango Cream Sauce:
1 fresh mango
8 oz. sour cream
2 T. heavy cream
Cut mango into large pieces. Blend all ingredients together until completely pureed. Serve 2 tablespoons of mango cream on each plate and then place the crab goat cheese cheesecake slices on top. The sauce can be made 2 days in advance if kept well covered.
Mango Chutney:
1 fresh mango, chopped small
1 fresh jalapeño, minced
½ red pepper, minced
½ cup cilantro, chopped
1/3 of a small red onion, minced
2 T. honey
1 tsp. good olive oil
Salt and pepper
Mix all ingredients together at least 2 hours ahead of serving. It can be made ahead of time and placed in the refrigerator overnight. (Just drain the juice out before serving.) Place 1 tablespoon on top of each slice.
Boletus Mushroom Sauté
White Boletus Mushrooms (Trumpet)
EVOO
Salt
Pepper
Thyme
Mint
Basil
Magic here is using the correct mushrooms and a HIGH heat to sauté them in!!! That’s it…the rest of the ingredients are up to you!
Juli and Volca's Marinated Mushrooms
(Annie's parents gave us this recipe- we've been using it for more than 20 years!)
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
juice of two lemons
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, bruised w/ the flat of a knife
6 whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. whole, small mushrooms
Combine the olive oil, water, lemon juice, bay leaf, garlic, peppercons and salt in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Bring to a boil and steep for 15 min. Strain the marinade and return to the pot. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Drop the mushrooms into the marinade and simmer for 5 min. turning as needed.
Let the mushrooms cool in the marinade. Serve them at room temperature. (They can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.)
Marinated Feta in Peppedew Peppers
1 jar of Peppedew Peppers or 1/2 cup from an olive bar
1 block of Boarshead Feta, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 cup plain olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 sprigs of rosemary
6 sprigs of thyme
1 T. whole black peppercorns
1 tsp. Kosher salt
Place Feta in a large mason jar along with rosemary thyme, peppercorns and salt. Whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and pour over the herbs, spices and cheese. Marinate for 24 hours. (or more)
Drain the cheese and place a cube into each Peppedew pepper. Serve cold or at room temp.
Polenta w/ Wild Mushroom Sauce
3 cups water, boiling
½ tsp. salt
1 cup Polenta
½ cup Fontina Cheese
3 cups wild mushrooms, sliced
4 cups wild mushroom broth (made from dried mushrooms)
1 cup cream
4 T. butter
Make polenta according to package instructions. Stir in cheese until smooth and creamy. Pour Polenta into a 9x13” casserole dish and refrigerate. Before serving cut the polenta into squares or triangles and grill until just warm.
Simmer the mushroom broth until reduced by 1/2. In another skillet brown the mushrooms w/o adding salt. Add mushrooms and cream to the reduction and reduce until slightly thickened; add salt and pepper at this point. (You can add a little cornstarch slurry if needed to thicken). Finish the sauce with a little butter just before serving over the warmed polenta. Serve immediately.
Salmon Pate`
16 oz. cream cheese, softened to rm. Temp
4 T. butter softened
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. Tabasco
8 oz. ground smoked salmon
1 T. + 1 tsp. prepared horseradish
2 tsp. lemon juice
4 T. dry sherry
2 T. red onion, minced finely
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Refrigerate over night.
Shawn's Cheeseball
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
1 T. Mayo
3/4 tsp. prepared mustard
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. Tabasco
1 tsp. Worcestershire
1/2 tsp. Accent
1 tsp. Seasoned salt
1-2 cups toasted chopped pecans
Combine cheese, onions, mayo and mustard. Mix thoroughly. Add in all of the other ingredients except the chopped pecans and mix again. Roll into 2 balls and roll both balls into the chopped pecans. Wrap and refrigerate both balls until ready to serve. You can freeze the balls for 3 months.
Shrimp Puffs
7 1/2 oz. can refrigerator biscuits
1 c. Monterey jack cheese, grated
2 green onion, chopped small
1/4 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 lb. boiled shrimp (You can buy pre-cooked at the store)
1/2 tsp. fresh dill
pinch cayenne
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a miniature muffin tin with butter.
Cut each biscuit in 1/2 and place each half into the tin. Work the dough so that it spreads up the side of the cup a bit.
Meanwhile, mix the cheese, green onion, mayo, sour cream, shrimp, dill and cayenne together. Place ~1 T. of the mixture on top of each biscuit. Bake for 20 minutes or until the puffs are brown and bubbling.
The original recipe came from my neighbor, Gwen. I've changed it a bit to suit my taste. This is a great appetizer to make at the last second! Serve them warm!
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