Almond-Crumb Scones

Almond-Crumb Scones

Like scones? Then you’ll love these almond-crumb delights! They bake with a sweet, buttery almond streusel topping.

Yield: 8 scones

Almond Streusel:
2 tablespoons butter or margarine (firm)
3 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped almonds, toasted

Dough:
1/2 cup butter or margarine (firm)
2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted
1 egg
1/2 cup half-and-half

Heat oven to 400 F.

Make Almond Streusel:
Cut butter into remaining ingredients until crumbly. Set aside.

Make Dough:
Cut butter into flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Stir in almonds. Stir in egg and just enough half-and-half so dough leaves side of bowl and forms a ball.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; gently roll in flour to coat. Knead lightly 10 times. Pat or roll into 9-inch circle on ungreased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with streusel; press lightly into dough. Cut into 8 wedges, but do not separate.

Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; carefully separate wedges. Serve warm.

Success Hint: Count to 10! Overkneading the dough will make your scones tough.

Tip: To toast almonds or other nuts, heat oven to 350 F and bake in an ungreased baking pan about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

Peppermint Cocoa

      Title: Peppermint Cocoa
Categories: Beverages, Christmas
     Yield: 8 Servings

     3    (4 1/2") peppermint sticks
     1 c  Confectioners' sugar
     1 c  Powdered nondairy creamer
   3/4 c  Unsweetened cocoa

 Place peppermint sticks in a airtight bag, beat to a powder with a
 mallet. Combine peppermint with sugar, creamer and cocoa. Add 1/4 cup
 mix to 3/4 cup boiling water for each serving. Store remaining mix in
 a jar or airtight bag.  Serves 8  Source: Quick & Easy Cooking ch.

Cookies-and-Cream Shake

Yield: 2 to 3 servings

6 scoops vanilla ice cream - recipe
1 cup milk (250 ml)
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (50 ml)
4 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies
Whipped cream (optional)

In a blender, combine ice cream, milk, chocolate chips, and chocolate sandwich cookies. Blend until frothy.

Pour into glasses and serve immediately with straws.

Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.

Variation: Substitute chocolate chip cookies for the chocolate sandwich cookies.

Creamy Irish Coffee

Creamy Irish Coffee

Categories: Beverages, Irish, Alcoholic, Coffee,
Yield: 1 servings

1 1/2 oz Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur
Hot black coffee
Whipped cream

Stir first 2 ingredients together in a glass mug. Top with a generous amount of whipped cream.
Recipe shared by Deborah Kuhnen.

Coffee Liqueur

Coffee Liqueur Categories: Alcohol, Beverages 4 c Sugar 2 c Water 2/3 c Instant coffee 10 Coffee beans (whole) Fifth of vodka* 1 Vanilla bean (2-3 inches) Combine water, sugar, and coffee in a saucepan and bring to a full boil. Skim off the froth and allow to cool thoroughly. Pour into the container. Add vodka, coffee beans (optional but will add a fuller flavor), and vanilla bean. Store in a dark place for 3 weeks. Strain and filter. Ready to serve. *A brandy/vodka mix may be substituted for a simulated "Kahula". *A rum/vodka mix may be used to simulate "Tia Maria". Yield: 1 1/2 quarts (may be halved)

Hazelnut Liqueur

Hazelnut Liqueur Yield: 1 pint 6 oz Hazelnuts 1 Vanilla bean (1 inch) 1 tsp Allspice 1 1/2 c Vodka 1/3 c Sugar Syrup Chop the hazelnuts to release the flavor of the nut and add to vodka, vanilla bean, and allspice. Age for 2 weeks, shaking lightly occasionally. Strain and filter until clear. Add sugar syrup, if desired, and age for an additional 3 weeks. Ready to serve. Makes a nice gift and is nice over ice cream as well as an aperitif. Alternately, try using pistachios which also make a delicious liqueur. If flavor is too weak, add more nuts and re-steep a week before adding the sugar syrup.

Turkey Brine

Ingredients
12-14 lbs turkey, washed and cleaned out
1 cup kosher salt or sea salt
1/4 cup table sugar or brown sugar
2 quarts water
Directions
1Combine 2 quarts of water in a 6 quart pot with salt and sugar, over high heat until dissolved.
2If wanted, add other seasonings at this time.
3Let come back to room temperature.
4You will need 2 gallon turkey size oven roasting bags.
5Place one roasting bag inside the other, roll down the edges of the bags to help them stay open.
6Put bags in a heavy roasting pan that will hold turkey.
7Place turkey breast side down, with legs facing you in the inner bag.
8Some help from another person at this point would be of help, they can hold the bags open for you as you pour the cooled brine into the cavity and over the turkey.
9Gather the inner bag as tightly as possible and secure with a twist tie.
10Secure outer bag with twist tie.
11Refrigerate in the roasting pan for 12-18 hours.
12Remove from bags, rinse very well, pat dry with paper towels.
13It's now ready for your favorite recipe.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread

Bananas are a main cash crop for Cameroon, along with cocoa, coffee, palm oil and sugar.

1-3/4 cups flour a cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda 2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder 3 medium ripe bananas mashed
2 tablespoons margarine salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour one loaf pan.

Sift the flour together with baking soda and baking powder and a little salt into a bowl.

In a larger bowl, cream the margarine and sugar, then add the beaten eggs a little at a time. Add flour alternately with mashed bananas; stir well to mix ingredients but do not overstir.

Put mixture into prepared loaf pan. Bake for approximately one hour, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn out on wire rack to finish cooling.

Pan Pacific Rice

• 3 cups cooked rice
• 1 cup sliced green onions
• 3/4 cup salted cashews
• 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Combine rice, onions, cashews, vinegar and sesame seeds in medium bowl.
Serve warm or cold.

Makes 6 servings.

Exotic Mushrooms with Shaved Truffles Pasta
From our friends at Earthy Delights, online purveyors of specialty foods – mushrooms, truffles, spelt products and more. Look for their Valentine's Day specials!

Dress this dish up with slivers of sun-dried tomatoes.

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 cups thinly sliced exotic mushrooms (Shiitake, Portobello, Wood Ear, Crimini, Oyster or a combination)
1 pound angel hair pasta (white spelt pasta makes a nice change)
Truffle oil to drizzle
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 fresh black truffles
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Salt and pepper

In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil. When the pan is hot, sauté the shallots and garlic for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta for 2 minutes or until al dente. Remove from the water and drain. Drizzle with truffle oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble, place a nest of the pasta in the center of the plate. Spoon the mushrooms over the pasta. Drizzle the truffle oil over the mushrooms. Sprinkle the cheese over the mushrooms and shave the truffles over the top. The truffles should be very finely shaved with a knife or truffle shaver. Garnish with chives.

Yield: 4 servings

Coconut Creme Eggs

Coconut Creme Eggs
Candymaking is an exact science as well as an art. For best results, follow the recipe faithfully and do your best to find the ingredients by brand name. Makes 6 to 8 dozen eggs, depending on how you size them.

Fondant centers:

• 1/2 pound Parkay margarine (two sticks), softened
• one 14 ounce can Eagle Brand condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 7 ounces (half a large bag) of Baker's sweetened shredded coconut OR, if you can find it, two 3 1/2 ounce cans coconut (canned is more moist than the bagged)
• 3 1/2 pounds (one and a half large bags) confectioners' sugar
• food coloring

Before beginning, choose a couple of cookie sheets or large pans that can later fit into your refrigerator unstacked. Line them with waxed paper and leave them ready and waiting by your work station. Then, thoroughly wash your hands.

You may use an electric beater for the steps in this paragraph only. Beat margarine until fluffy in a huge bowl (a roaster or pasta pot works well). Slowly blend in condensed milk and vanilla. Beat in coconut. If using an electric beater, stop it now, lick the blades clean and put it away. Get out a sturdy spatula or killer wooden spoon.

Have some confectioners' sugar on hand in case your fingers get too sticky to handle the filling. Beat, pummel, squish and otherwise incorporate the confectioners' sugar into the coconut mixture, a cupful at a time. Like bread dough, when you just think you can't knead it anymore, it will begin to take on the lovely texture of soft Playdough. If you'd like to color the fondant filling, follow the directions in the next paragraph. Otherwise, maul this candy filling until it can form a ball as smooth as a baby's bum. It will no longer be sticky. The confectioners' sugar will be fully incorporated.

To add color, divide the fondant into hunks, one hunk per color. If you make one hunk yellow, you'll be able to fashion little round "yolks" around which you'll wrap a contrasting color (little children love to make the yolks!). Take a hunk, flatten it a bit with your fist, then add a few drops of food coloring. Wrap the fondant up around the drops so they don't leak all over your work area and then knead, knead, knead. The color will appear streaked until, suddenly, it becomes uniformly colored. The advantage to coloring the fondant is that it will give you extra incentive to work it to the perfect consistency.

You may wish to sprinkle some of extra confectioners' sugar on the waxed paper lined baking sheets. Now, if your fondant truly feels like fresh Playdough, start tearing off small pieces of it and, rolling it between your palms, form eggs. Since the fondant is very rich, don't roll them much larger than a walnut in its shell. However, the size of the egg is not critical and certainly not worth worrying about especially if the kids are helping. Consider slicing some of the eggs in half to serve - this is a particularly pretty option if you choose to place a yellow "yolk" in the center. Place the formed eggs on the lined baking sheets.

Refrigerate eggs for at least one hour before coating with chocolate or overnight.

Prepare coating.

Vietnamese Hue Noodle Soup
Bun Bo Hue

My favorite Vietnamese restaurant, "Little Saigon", serves Bun Bo Hue as a weekend special, starting on Thursday night. Since I can't move in for the weekend, it is natural that I learn to prepare to make this delicious dish for myself. Now you, too, can enjoy it, without going far from your kitchen!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ham hocks
• 6 stalks lemongrass, crushed and sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons nuoc nam
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 ounces boneless sirloin
• 4 ounces boneless pork loin
• 16 ounces rice noodles, cooked
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 4 sprigs Thai holy basil (regular basil ok)
• 4 sprigs fresh mint
• 4 sprigs fresh cilantro
• 4 teaspoons sambal oelek or hot chili sauce
• 4-8 fresh Thai red chili peppers (amount optional)
• 1 lime, cut into quarters

Directions

Bring 2 1/2 quarts water to a boil; add ham hocks and lemongrass.
Skim constantly for 10 minutes then cover the pan, reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours.
Strain the broth, reserving ham hocks if you desire them.
Add nuoc mam, sugar, salt and pepper, sirloin, and pork loin to the broth and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until meat is cooked and tender; remove meat.
Thinly slice meats into small pieces
To serve, place a portion of noodles in serving bowl, top with some bean sprouts, pork, beef, and some ham hock (if using), and ladle the broth over; add herbs, chili sauce, chilies, and lime juice to taste.

Clam Satay

Ingredients

• 1 lb of clams
• 5 shallots
• 2 spoons of sweet soy sauce
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper.

Directions

Boil clams. After they are done, let it cool. Take the meat out. Slice shallots Mix shallots, soy sauce, and lime juice with the clams Add salt and pepper to taste Put clams in skewers, barbecue for a little bit

Beef Semur

Ingredients

• 1 lb beef
• 6 pieces candle nut
• 5 cm of ginger
• 5 pieces of shallots
• 3 pieces of garlic
• salt, pepper
• soy sauce

Directions

Slice beef thinly
Peel shallots and garlic, slice thinly
Slice ginger and grind candle nu
t Brown shallots, garlic, ginger, and candle nut
Put in beef and mix them evenly
Add salt and pepper
Add 2-3 cups of water so beef will cook evenly

Sweet and Sour Shrimp

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb of medium sized shrimps
• 5 pieces of garlic
• 3 oz.flour
• 1 piece of egg
• 2 spoons of tomato sauce
• 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp of sugar, salt and pepper.

Directions

Clean the shrimps, remove the heads, keep the tails Clean garlic, and slice thinly. Sprinkle over the shrimps. Make a mix of the flour, egg, with enough water, salt, and pepper. Heat oil in a pan. One by one, put the shrimps into the pan by first dipping it in the mix. Fry until golden. Put on a plate, pour tomato sauce over them.
Tomato sauce: Heat tomato sauce, add sugar, and lime juice

Prawns with Peanut Sauce

Recipe by: the California Culinary Academy Preparation Time: 0:25
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb Medium prawns
• 1 c White wine
• 1 1/2 tb Smooth peanut butter
• 2 tb Safflower oil
• 1 1/2 tb Light honey
• 2 tb Low-sodium soy or tamari -sauce
• 2 ts Rice vinegar
• 1/2 ts Dark sesame oil
• 1/2 ts Cayenne pepper
• 1 tb Green onion; minced
• 1 1/2 ts Ground coriander
• 1/2 ts Ground cumin
• 4 c Steamed rice; (optional)

Directions

1. Wash prawns, peel, and devein. Place in a large saucepan with wine. Cook over medium-high heat until they turn bright pink. Set aside. 2. In a small bowl mix together peanut butter and safflower oil until smooth. Add honey, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, cayenne, green onion, coriander, and cumin. Mix well, then add prawns. Place prawns and sauce in saucepan and reheat. Serve over steamed rice (if desired).

Indonesian Potato and Beef Perkedel

Yield: 15 servings

Ingredients

• 2 lb Baking potatoes, boiled and -mashed
• 1 1/2 ts Salt
• 1/2 ts Freshly ground pepper
• 2 ts Ground coriander
• 1/8 ts Nutmeg
• 1/4 c Chopped parsley leaves
• 1 lg Egg
• 2 tb Peanut oil, plus more for -deep frying
• 4 Shallots, finely chopped
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 lb Lean ground beef.

Directions

In Indonesia, these fritters are served as part of a rijstaffel (rice-table) or as a side dish to embellish a main course. You will find they work well as a delicious appetizer for a Western meal.

Mix together the mashed potatoes, 1 teaspoon of the salt, half the pepper, the coriander, nutmeg, parsley and egg.

Preheat a wok until hot. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil, the shallots and garlic; saute until soft. Add beef and stir to break up clumps; brown until meat is no longer red, about 2 minutes. Season with remaining salt and pepper. Cool.

Combine the meat with the potato mixture. Form into 16 balls and flatten them into cakes about 2 inches round by 1 inch thick. Set on a tray. Refrigerate, if not fried immediately.

Pour 2 inches of oil into a preheated wok. Heat to 365F. Add 4 or 5 cakes, or as many as will fit into the pan without crowding or reducing the temperature of the oil. Deep fry, turning occasionally until golden brown, about 3 minutes. (If preferred, the cakes may be pan-fried in a flat skillet.) Remove to paper towels to drain. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Makes 15 cakes.

Tabooli

Tabooli

(Parsley Salad)

six servings

• 1/2 cup cracked, fine-ground wheat
• 2 bunches parsley, finely chopped
• 4 Tbsp. mint leaf, finely chopped
• 3 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 small cucumbers, finely chopped
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/3 tsp. allspice
• pinch cloves
• pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed in mortar with salt

Place cracked wheat (burghol) in pan and cover with water. Bring just to boil. Remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop vegetables. Strain wheat and press out all water possible. Place in salad bowl. Add parsley and garlic. Mix well. Add all other vegetables, spices, and lemon juice. Mix well. Add olive oil and adjust seasonings. Press tabooli down in bowl and refrigerate until serving, at least one hour. Fluff before serving. Bowl may be garnished with lettuce leaves.

Note: dried mint may be substituted for fresh.

Spaghetti with Yogurt (and Meat)

Spaghetti with Yogurt (and Meat)

four servings

• 1 lb. spaghetti
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 cups Cooked Yogurt
• 4 cloves garlic, mashed in mortar with salt
• 1 lb. top round ground beef
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp. pepper

Recipe may be prepared with meat or without for a less hearty meal.

Cook spaghetti in salted water. Rinse with cold water. Mix meat and spices and sauté in one tablespoon butter. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Mix garlic with yogurt (see recipe for Cooked Yogurt). Melt butter an heat spaghetti. Add yogurt and meat. Toss and serve.

Sitti-z’be’e

Sitti-z’be’e

(Slippery Lady Lentil Soup)

four servings

• 6 cups water
• 1 cup dried lentils
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 lemons, juiced
• pepper, to taste
• 1/3 tsp. allspice
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed in mortar with salt

Boil lentils in water with 1 teaspoon salt, chopped onion, and olive oil until tender, about 20 minutes. Strain out about half of the lentils and mash or process with a little of the broth, and set aside.. Add the macaroni and the second teaspoon salt to the lentils and cook another 20 minutes. Stir in the mashed lentils to thicken soup.

Fry the cilantro in 2 tsp. olive oil until just wilted. Add to soup. Add garlic, pepper, and allspice. Add lemon juice and adjust seasonings. Parsley, added fresh to soup, may be substituted for cilantro for a different taste. Cumin may also be added.

Arabic Coffee

Arabic Coffee

two servings

• 2 demitasse-sized cups water
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. crushed cardamom
• 2 tsp. Arabic coffee, with cardamom

Boil the water with the sugar and the cardamom. Cardamom is ground from peeled whole seeds if possible, or use commercially ground cardamom. Remove from heat. Stir in the coffee. Then place over heat, while holding the pot. Let it foam up, remove from heat, and allow to heat to foaming again. Serve immediately.

Note sugar and coffee are approximately equal. Adjust to your taste. Cardamom is not necessary if taste prefers.