The Best Damn ChocoPots

Ingredients:

1/2 pint heavy cream
7 ounces semisweet organic chocolate
2 large brown egg yolks
3 tablespoons brandy (or peppermint schnapps is ok too)
4 teaspoons butter

Directions:

In a thick-bottomed pot, heat the cream until near boiling. Remove and set aside for 1 minute before adding chocolate. Stir in until melted and smooth. Once melted, stir in egg yolks and brandy. Cool slightly, add butter and stir until smooth and shiny. Pour into individual serving pots.

Basic Hippy Nut Granola

Ingredients (I prefer organic):

3 c rolled oats
1 c slivered almonds
1 c pecan halves or cashews (high fat nuts)
3/4 c shredded coconut
1/4 c plus 2 T dark brown sugar
1/4 c plus 2 T maple syrup
1/4 c vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 c raisins or dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.
Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins/dried cranberries and mix until evenly distributed.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

WHOOPIE INGREDIENTS

2 egg yolks
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. cooked pumpkin
3 c. flour

WHOOPIE DIRECTIONS:

Beat egg yolks, brown sugar and oil together until smooth. Add pumpkin and dry ingredients. Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cool. Fill with filling.

FILLING:
2 tsp. vanilla
4 tbsp. flour
2 egg whites, unbeaten
2 tbsp. milk
1 1/2 c. butter or shortening
1 box confectioners' sugar (1 lb.)

Mix together & chill until needed.

Old Deviled Eggs

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 tsp dill pickle relish
2 tbs finely grated onion (I run mine through the microplane)
1 tbsp whole mustard
1/2 tsp vinegar
dash of cayenne
6 hard boiled eggs

Slice hard boiled eggs in half. Remove yolk and mash in a bowl and add remaining spices.
Spoon egg yolk mixture into egg whites. Chill for an hour or overnight and serve.

Holiday Spinach Salad

Ingredients:

1 bag of pre-washed spinach
1 c chopped apples
1/2 c chopped red onions
1/2 c chopped pecans
1/4 c craisins (dried cranberries)
4 sticks of bacon crumbled (reserve grease)
1/4 c crumbled blue cheese
6 T olive oil
1 T dijon mustard
1 T brown sugar

Salad Dressing Prep:

In a heat safe bowl combine 2 T bacon grease with brown sugar. Stir until sugar desolves and add dijon mustard. Slowly whisk in olive oil until frothy dressing is ready. Reserve to toss with salad.

Salad Directions:

Poor salad dressing in the bottom of a large wooden bowl. Add apples, pecans and onions. Top with spinach, blue cheese crumbles, craisins, and bacon. Toss before serving (by leaving the dressing on the bottom the salad will not wilt before serving)

Stuffed & Drunk Turkey Breasts

This recipe was very popular during my catering days. It is grate sliced on top of a spinach salad like the one I will be posting on Friday.

Ingredients:

1 (4-5 lb.) pkg. turkey breast half
1 (6 oz.) Stove Top stuffing mix for turkey, prepared using ale instead of water
1 med. apple, chopped
1/2 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. chopped onions
1 ale (for stuffing prep)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Rinse turkey; pat dry. With knife, loosen lining under skin leaving all but one edge attached. Toss stuffing with remaining ingredients in large bowl. Spoon into pocket under loosened skin. Secure opening with toothpicks. Place, skin side up, in shallow roasting pan. Roast 1 1/2 hours. Baste with pan drippings; cover loosely with foil. Roast an additional 45-60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is great for the Holidays because it's a little fancier than a normal mashed potato. PLUS it's too fattening to eat often...so the Holidays seem like a nice time to splurge.

Ingredients:

1 lb of red potatoes
1 stick of butter (1/4 c)
1 stick of cream cheese (8 ounces)
1/2 c heavy cream
1 T salt
2 T white pepper
1 HEAD of Garlic
2-3 T olive oil

Directions:

Cut the top off a head of garlic. Place it in foil and coat with Olive Oil. Wrap into a foil baseball and place in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. You'll smell it when it's done. Squeeze the warm, light brown garlic out of the skins on to a dish and mash them with a fork then reserve it until later.

Boil pototoes (cut larger ones in half or chunks) until fork tender. Drain and mash. Add butter and cream cheese and stir. Add garlic and seasonings. Stir in cream slowly until your potatoes are the consistancy you like them.

Chicken & Cilantro (Cheater Soup)

Ingredients:

1 Roasted Chicken, shredded
1 Bunch of Cilantro (1/2 coup)
6 c Chicken Stock
1/2 Yellow Onion cut into thin slices
1 c Bean Sprouts
2 c Egg Noodles
3 Green Onions, chopped
Lime Juice
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:

Bring chicken stock up to a simmer in a pot. Add yellow onion, garlic, and shredded chicken meat. Simmer 10-12 minutes. Stir in egg noodles, lime juice and simmer until noodles are soft. Add bean sprouts and green onions. Serve while green onions and sprouts are still crisp