Endive Spears with Lobster, Avocado, and Grapefruit

Makes 30-32 servings

Ingredients

• · 3 pink grapefruit, peel and pith removed
• · 3 avocado, peeled and pitted
• · 3 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• · 9 ounces cooked lobster meat
• · 12 heads Belgian endive (about 8 ounces)
• · Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• · 9 fresh tarragon

Directions

1. Using a small paring knife, remove sections from grapefruit. If sections are too large, cut in half crosswise. Set aside.

2. Slice avocado into 1/8-inch-thick slices; cut slices into 1-inch lengths. Toss in bowl with lemon juice, and set aside.

3. Cut lobster into bite-size pieces; set aside.

4. Trim bottoms from endives; separate spears. Place a grapefruit section on top of each endive spear. Top with piece of avocado, then a piece of lobster. Season with salt and pepper; garnish with tarragon. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.

Shrimp, Pork, and Sugar Snap Pea Spring Rolls

Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

• · 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more as needed and for frying
• · 1/2 pound ground pork
• · 1/2 cup minced onion
• · 1/4 cup minced celery
• · 1/4 cup finely grated carrot
• · 3 garlic cloves, minced
• · 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• · 1/2 cup grated cabbage (3 ounces)
• · 1/2 cup sugar snap peas (2 ounces), thinly sliced
• · 1/2 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined, thinly sliced crosswise
• · Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• · 10 pring-roll wrappers (8-inch square)
• · 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
• · 1 tablespoon water
• 
  
• · Rice-Vinegar Dipping Sauce

Directions

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add pork, and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove pork with a slotted spoon.

2. Add onion to pan, and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add celery, carrot, garlic, and fish sauce, and cook until vegetables are softened, about 2 minutes. Add cabbage, sugar snap peas, and shrimp, and cook until shrimp is pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Stir in reserved pork. Season with salt and pepper, and let cool slightly.

3. Stack spring-roll wrappers, and cut into quarters. (You should have forty 4-inch squares.)

4. Whisk yolk and water in a small bowl. Place 1 wrapper on a work surface, with 1 corner facing you. (Keep remaining wrappers covered with a damp kitchen towel.) Arrange 1 tablespoon filling in a mound in center of wrapper. Fold bottom corner over filling, then fold in sides halfway. Roll wrapper to form a tight cylinder, leaving top corner exposed. Brush top corner with egg wash, and press to seal. Cover with a damp kitchen towel. Repeat with remaining ingredients. (Spring rolls can be frozen for up to 1 month; do not thaw before cooking.)

5. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in large, heavy skillet until it reaches 350 degrees. Working in batches, add spring rolls, seam side down, and fry, turning frequently, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. (Adjust heat as necessary to keep oil at a steady temperature; add more oil if needed.) Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Rice Vinegar Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

Makes 1/2 cup

· 1/2 cup unseasoned rice-wine vinegar

· 1 small green chile, such as serrano, seeded and thinly sliced

Directions

1. Combine vinegar and chile in a small bowl. Let stand at room temperature at least 1 hour before serving (or for up to 2 hours.

Herbed Cheese with Pears, Pine Nuts, and Honey

Makes 32 servings

Ingredients

• · 16 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
• · 24 tablespoons pine nuts
• · 48 ounces fresh goat cheese, room temperature
• · 8 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
• · 16 teaspoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• · 4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• · 16 ripe but firm Bartlett pears
• · 16 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons flavorful honey, such as buckwheat, chestnut, or leatherwood

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place ricotta in a fine sieve set over a bowl; let excess liquid drain, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, spread nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in oven until lightly browned, tossing occasionally, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate; let cool.

2. In a food processor or medium bowl, mix together goat cheese and drained ricotta until creamy and thoroughly combined. Stir in thyme, parsley, and lemon zest; set aside.

3. Slice each pear into six wedges. Divide herbed cheese among four serving plates, spooning it into mounds. Arrange three pear wedges next to cheese on each plate. Sprinkle with nuts; drizzle about 2 teaspoons honey over each portion of cheese and pears. Serve immediately.

Cranberry Soup

Healthy Christmas Recipe

Whether you serve it hot or cold, the complex sweet-tart-spicy flavor of this cranberry soup will begin any meal on a good note. Despite its rich taste, the use of evaporated skim milk keeps fat content to a minimum.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh cranberries (4 cups)
• 1 large cinnamon stick
• 1/2 cup sugar or less, depending on tartness of cranberries
• 2 cups evaporated skim milk
• 1/4 cup plain lowfat yogurt
• Nutmeg

Directions:

Place cranberries and cinnamon stick in large saucepan.

Add water to level about 1/2 inch above the berries. Heat to a boil at medium heat; reduce heat and simmer until cranberries are very tender and begin to fall apart. Remove cinnamon stick.

Pour cranberry mixture into blender. Puree, slowly adding sugar to taste. Strain.

Place cranberry mixture and evaporated milk in saucepan; reheat to just under a boil. Serve hot or cold. To serve, top with a tablespoon of yogurt and a dash of nutmeg.

Recipe makes 4 servings Cranberry Soup.

White Bean-and-Black Olive Crostini

Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 (8.5-oz.) French bread baguette, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch slices
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 (15.5-oz.) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup diced jarred roasted red bell peppers
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Garnish: torn basil leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Arrange bread slices on a baking sheet, and coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt and pepper. Bake 8 minutes or until toasted.

2. Process beans and next 3 ingredients in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Toss together olives and next 2 ingredients. Spread bean mixture on toasted bread slices, and dollop with olive mixture. Garnish, if desired.

Holiday Ambrosia

Makes 30-34 servings

Ingredients

· 3 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
· 3 cup (8 ounces) plain yogurt
· 1-1/2 cup lime juice
· 6 cans (11 ounces each) mandarin oranges, drained
· 3 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks, drained
· 4-1/2 cups halved green grapes
· 4 cups flaked coconut
· 3 cup miniature marshmallows
· 3 cup chopped pecans
· 1-1/2 cup halved maraschino cherries, drained

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the milk, yogurt and lime juice. Stir in the remaining ingredients. 

Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 hours.

Garde Manger Project

Winter Wonderland Menu

Soup

Chilled Cranberry Soup

Salad

Holiday Ambrosia

Hors d'œuvres

Endive Spears with Lobster, Avocado, and Grapefruit

Shrimp, Pork and Sugar Snap Spring Rolls

White Bean and Black Olive Crostini

Herbed Cheese with Pears, Pine Nuts and Honey

Dessert

Bourbon Pecan Truffles

Drinks

Iced Water with Cucumber

Brain Cupcakes

Got this idea from

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/brain-cupcakes

I bought a box of white cake mix, with the intent of dyeing it orange, immediately lost it upon arriving, so we had to improvise and use Confetti Cake Mix - which actually turned out quite cute.

I want to do vampire-esque cupcakes for the Halloween party. Maybe red velvet cake with black icing? I want something gooey and red in the center - not sure what to do yet.

To make the cupcakes... I followed to box directions (no I didn't make them from scratch - I had too many things on my plate that day) then used a small tip to ice them (used Vanilla from the can). To draw the "brains" you make two D's facing back-to-back on the cupcakes and then squiggle in the middle - super easy - super fun for a Halloween party.

Rainbow Layered Cake

One of my favorite cakes (or cupcakes) to make for friends!

1. Divide your cake batter into 8 different bowls. Color each bowl of batter a different color. Our colors are: red, pink, orange, yellow, green, light blue, dark blue, and purple. Bake each layer in an 8″ or 9″ round pan. You will take turns using the pan over and over with different colors. Unless you have 8 round pans. Make sure to grease and flour your pan or put a round of parchment in the bottom to prevent sticking. Let each cake cool slightly before removing. Turn out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.

2. Once the cakes have cooled completely, freeze each layer individually wrapped in plastic. This will make it easier to assemble and frost the cake.

3. Once the cakes are frozen you can start layering your cake in a rainbow pattern, putting frosting in between each layer.

4. Frost the outside of the cake as well. More complete instructions will be included in the PDF download–available after the whole party has been posted.

Make sure you also check out the Tie-Dye Cake recipe!

Stone Soup: Minimalist Home Cooking

A friend (Lindsay) linked this book to me. It has really great recipes, very simple, minimal ingredients. Don't know how some of them would taste as I like to over season my food but... it is worth checking out.

The cookbook:

http://thestonesoup.com/blog/images/free_stonesoup_ecookbook.pdf

The blog:

http://thestonesoup.com/blog/

Baked Apple and Chèvre Chaud Crostini with Honey

Yields: about 25 pieces

Ingredients:

• 1 French baguette
• 4 Fuji apples
• 6-8 oz Chevre (goat cheese)
• 1 cup Apple juice
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Italian herbs
• 2 Tbsp EVOO
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 1 tsp Cinnamin
• 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• Honey

Directions:

Apples:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

Core apples, making sure not to puncture the bottom of the apples so that the juices will remain. Remove skin from 1/2-inch around top of apples at the opening. Fill each cavity with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Top each apple with a teaspoon of butter. Place apples in casserole dish and pour apple juice around them. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake for approximately 30-45 minutes. When apples are fork tender, remove from oven and allow to cool.

Once apples have cooled cut into quarters then slice as thin as preferred to top each slice of bread.

Crostini:

• Slice the baguette, and place the slices flat on a cookie sheet. Make sure there is some room between the slices, but as close together as you can get them without touching. Drizzle the EVOO over the slices, and sprinkle 1/2 of the fresh herbs evenly over all the pieces Pop them in the oven to get them light brown, and a little crispy--keep an eye on them, so they don't burn--this can happen fast, so be careful!
• Take the light brown crostini out of the oven and turn oven to BROIL. Top slices with 1 tsp goat cheese and put crostini back in the oven for ~2 minutes to brown the cheese.

Once cheese has browned, top each piece with a thin slice of apple and a drop (or two) of honey.

Harvest Herb Tea

I've been in love with tea ever since Lindsay turned me onto them with a birthday present many years ago. I love Zhena's Gypsy Tea because they are made with biodegradable bags and they are USDA Certified Organic and Fair Trade Certified .

Many people do not understand the importance of "Fair Trade Certified" and will purchase whatever tea they can find in their local grocery store. Without going on an Anthropological-Anti-Capitalism rant, I will link a definition from ye old Wikipedia.

"Fair trade is a financial relationship between producers, sellers, and consumers based on the principle of equity within the exchange of goods. There are nine main principles by which all fair trade abides: create opportunities for marginalized producers, develop transparent relationships, build capacity, promote fair trade, pay promptly and fairly, support empowering working conditions, ensure children’s rights, cultivate environmental stewardship, and respect cultural identity."

So far I have purchased the Raspberry Earl, Egyptian Mint, Gingerbread Chai, Pumpkin Spice, Black Forest Berry Green Tea, Kiwi Peach Green Tea, Acai Berry Tea, Papaya Mango Tropical Tea and a cute stackable Black Tea sampler (Peach Ginger, Coconut Chai, Raspberry Earl, Gypsy Rose).

The Egyptian Mint is my favorite for when I have a headache. I'm currently sipping on Pumpkin Spice for obvious holiday reasons. I'm tempted to buy the Pomegranate Cider but am waiting for funds to magically appear in my bank account... or my boyfriend to catch onto my hints.

http://www.gypsytea.com/

Saucy Safari Apron

Accidentally purchased this cute piece of material... I have gotten used to cooking with an apron in class and the idea of baking at home in one tickles my fancy.

$25.49 on Overstock.com with free shipping :)

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Womens-Saucy-Safari-Apron/4670367/product.html

Asparagus Steak Oscar

Bearnaise Sauce (simple recipe without using packaged sauce):

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 stick butter, melted, clarified
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

Make the bearnaise reduction first. In a small saucepan, combine the tarragon, shallots, vinegar and wine over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Blend yolks and bearnaise reduction together. With the blender running, add 1/3 of the butter in a slow steady stream. Once it emulsifies, turn the blender speed up to high and add the remaining butter. Season with salt and pepper and set aside in a warm spot to hold the sauce.

Steak Oscar

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
• 1/4 pound fresh crabmeat
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 4 beef tenderloin steaks (1 inch thick and 3 ounces each)
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Place asparagus in a steamer basket; place in a large saucepan over 1 in. of water. Bring to a boil; cover and steam for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Alternative: you can grill the asparagus with olive oil, salt, pepper or bake them in the oven until crisp. I prefer the oven.

In a large skillet, saute crab in butter for 3-4 minutes or until heated through. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in lemon juice; keep warm.

Grill steaks, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness (for medium-rare, a meat thermometer should read 145°; medium, 160°; well-done, 170°). Top with crab mixture, asparagus and bearnaise sauce. Sprinkle with paprika.