New to Blogging

Hi girls--this is the first time I have ever posted on a blog. Who knew? I think we need to have a link to our restaurant reviews. I would like to post restaurant reviews so we can all glean from each other's experiences. Tink

Savannah Crab Cakes

2 lbs. (1 ½ in shell)
1 lb. crabmeat, picked free of shell
½ cup crushed crackers or bread crumbs
3 green onions, finely chopped, with tops
½ cup finely chopped bell pepper
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 egg
2 Tbsp cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Juice of ½ lemon
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
Flour for dusting
½ cup peanut oil or margarine

Mix all ingredients together except flour and peanut oil. Chill for 1-2 hours. Shape into patties and dust with flour. Panfry in hot peanut oil over medium heat until browned, for 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and fry other side until golden brown.

Tartar Sauce

½ cup chopped green onion
½ cup chopped dill pickle
1 cup mayonnaise
½ teaspoon House Seasoning

In a bowl, combine chopped onion, pickle, mayonnaise, and House Seasoning and mix well. Serve alongside crab cakes with lemon wedges.

Variation: Substitute 1/3 cup capers for ½ cup pickles and add a dash of cayenne pepper.

Sara’s Salmon

¼ cup butter
1-2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 tablespoon ketchup
3 tablespoon soy sauce

Melt butter on stovetop. Mix in rest of ingredients. Spread over salmon. Broil or grill on stovetop, or barbeque.

Note: Sara made this a few years ago at Recipe Club…it was a hit. It’s easy, and takes only a minute to mix up. Pour over a Salmon fillet, make some rice and a salad or vegetable, and you have a healthy, easy meal in less than ½ hour!

Onion Lover's Twist

1 package dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
4 cups flour
½ cup butter or margarine, melted
½ cup milk
½ cup hot water
¼ cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten

Filling:
1 cup onion, finely chopped (or ¼ cup dried onion)
¼ cup butter, melted
4 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon paprika

Add*: ½ to ¾ cup cheddar cheese

In large mixing bowl, mix yeast and ¼ cup warm water. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir in 2 cups flour, melted butter, milk, ½ cup hot water, sugar, salt and egg. Blend at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in remaining flour. Cover and let rise in warm place until double in bulk (about 1 hour). While dough is rising, mix all filling ingredients. Set aside. Stir down dough. Toss on floured surface until dough is no longer sticky. Roll to a 12” x 18” rectangle. Cut lengthwise into three 4” x 18” strips. Spread on filling. Starting with 18” side, roll each strip around filling. Seal edges and ends. Place strips on the braid whenever possible. Cover and let rise in warm place until double in size. *Before baking, sprinkle sesame or poppy seeds on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (until golden brown). Yield: 1 large loaf (or 2 small loaves).

Black-Bottom Pie

2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons rum or substitute **
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate morsels

Gingersnap Crust

2 cups whipping cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Garnish: chocolate curls

*** 1 ½ Tablespoon rum extract

Stir together 2 tablespoons water and rum in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over mixture. Stir mixture, and set aside. Combine 2/3 cup sugar and cornstarch in a heavy saucepan; gradually whisk in milk and egg yolks. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute. Stir in gelatin mixture until dissolved.

Stir together 1 cup custard mixture and chocolate morsels until smooth. Pour into Gingersnap Crust. Chill 30 minutes or until set. Set aside remaining custard mixture. Beat whipping cream at high speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form.

Fold 1 cup whipped cream into remaining custard mixture. Spoon over chocolate mixture. Chill pie and remaining whipped cream 2 hours or until pie is set. Spread remaining whipped cream over pie. Garnish, if desired.

Gingersnap Crust

1 ½ cups gingersnap crumbs (about 26 cookies)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

Stir together all ingredients. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Strawberry-topped Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust

Crust:

20 whole graham crackers (10 ounces total), broken
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, diced
½ cup (packed) golden brown sugar

Filling:

4 – 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 ¾ cups sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
5 large eggs

Topping:

2 cups sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 16-ounce baskets strawberries, hulled
1 18-ounce jar raspberry jelly

For crust: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Wrap foil around outside of 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Combine graham crackers, butter and sugar in processor. Using on/off turns, blend until crumbs begin to stick together. Press crumbs onto bottom and 2 ¾ inches up sides of springform pan. Bake crust 10 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool while preparing filling. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling: Beat cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and salt in large bowl until very smooth. Beat in flour. Add eggs and beat just until blended, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Pour batter into prepared crust.

Bake until outer 2-inch edge of cake is puffed and slightly cracked, center is just set and top is brown in spots, about 55 minutes. Transfer cake to rack. Cool 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

For Topping: Whisk sour cream, sugar and vanilla in medium bowl to blend. Spoon topping over cake, spreading to edge of pan. Bake until topping is just set, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Run knife between crust and pan.

Cool hot cake in pan on rack. Refrigerate overnight.

Release pan sides from cheesecake. Arrange whole berries, points facing up, atop cheesecake; cover completely. Stir jelly in heavy lukewarm, about 5 minutes. Brush enough jelly over berries to glaze generously, allowing some to drip between berries. Reserve remaining glaze in saucepan. (Cake and glaze can be prepared up to 6 hours ahead. Cover cake and refrigerate.)

Rewarm remaining glaze until pourable. Cut cake into wedges. Serve, passing remaining glaze.

Sarah's Southwest Tomato Soup

1 package chicken tenders
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
2 cans chicken broth
1 package sweet white corn or 2 cans shoe peg corn
1 clove garlic, crushed
Juice and pulp of 1 lime
¼ cup chopped cilantro
Dash of red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
½ to 1 teaspoon cumin

Cook chicken in oven or crock-pot until done with oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. Add rest of ingredients to large pan simmer until hot. Serve with dollop of sour cream, grated cheese and tortilla chips.

Old-fashioned Meat Loaf

1 pound ground beef
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped bell pepper (optional)
1 egg, lightly beaten
8 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juice
½ cup quick-cooking oats

Topping:

1/3 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix all meat loaf ingredients well and place in a baking dish. Shape into a loaf.
Topping: Mix ingredients for topping and spread on loaf. Bake for 1 hour.

Mango Chutney Torta

1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon ground curry
1 (9-ounce) jar mango chutney, divided
1 cup dry roasted peanuts, divided
1 cup sliced green onions, divided
1 cup golden raisins, divided
Garnishes: sliced green onions, chopped peanuts, toasted coconut

Process cottage cheese in a food processor until smooth. Add cream cheese and ground curry; process until smooth. Reserve half of cheese mixture.

Add 2 tablespoons chutney and half each of peanuts, green onions, and raisins to remaining cheese mixture; pulse 3 or 4 times or until coarsely chopped. Spoon into an 8 x 4 inch loaf pan lined with plastic wrap; spread with ½ cup chutney.

Pulse reserved cheese mixture, 2 tablespoons chutney, and remaining peanuts, onions, and raisins in processor 3 or 4 times or until coarsely chopped; spoon over torta. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Invert onto a serving plate. Top with remaining chutney, if desired. Garnish, if desired, and serve with crackers.

Yield: 25 servings

Gorgonzola e Marmellata (Gorgonzola Cheese and Marmalade)

8 small slices good quality bread, cut ¼ inch thick
8 – ounce wedge Gorgonzola dolce, at room temperature
Good-quality jam, such as blackberry, blueberry, or orange marmalade

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with butter spray and arrange bread slices in a single layer on the sheet. “Toast” the slices in the oven until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove them to a cooling rack. Spread each slice with some of the Gorgonzola and top with a little jam or marmalade. Arrange on a serving dish.