61 making great Recipes

hershey bars without nuts. the amount depends on how bif of a kiss you want to make., chopped nuts of your choice, chopped candies of your choice, caramel, toffee bits, rice crispy cereal, chopped oreos, dried fruits, sunflower seeds, colored sugar, coconut, chocolate mints, marshmallows, fudge bits, peppermints, etc.., like to add that some great foil to wrap your candy in can be found at beauty supply stores or at a hair salon. the foils used to highlight hair are ultra thin and come in various colors. they cover the chocolate very well and are great to use for other chocolate recipes such as truffles or molded chocolates. they re not expensive and come in large squares which means less foil cutting for you! ho! ho! ho

mixed olives, pitted (if your supermarket has an olive bar in their deli, this is a great place to get a nice tapenade mixture---using canned or jarred olives, drain), peppadews (or roasted red peppers or sundried tomatoes, rehydrated--your choice), garlic, capers, anchovy fillet, or a touch of paste(optional), squirt of lemon juice, fresh parsley , basil or cilantro(your choice), quality olive oil (omit this if using deli olives..you really shouldn t need it)

rules for making sugar syrup, fudge is based on a sugar syrup , which is a solution of sugar in liquid. when making a sugar syrup, whether it is as simple as sugar and water or contains other ingredients, the rules remain the same., always stir sugar and liquid over low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved., if the mixture comes to the boil before all the sugar is dissolved, a crust of sugar crystals, which is hard to get rid of, will form around the edge of the pan., once the sugar has completely dissolved , allow the mixture to come to the boil, and do not stir the mixture, unless specifically instructed to in the recipe. stirring the boiling mixture will cause it to become cloudy and crystallised, which may or may not be desirable, depending on the recipe., using a sugar thermometer, boil the mixture for the full time, as specified in the recipe. because stoves vary so much, as do interpretations of high, medium or low heat, we have given a sugar thermometer reading as an exact gauge. the sugar thermometer should be fixed to the pan before the mixture comes to the boil, as handling the boiling liquid can be very hazardous., when the mercury reaches the temperature called for in the recipe , the fudge is ready. watch the mixture carefully towards the end of the cooking time, as it will burn quickly if left cooking too long., length of time the mixture cooks , and therefore the temperature it reaches in that given time, determines how the mixture will set. sugar thermometers are the simplest, most accurate way of determining when a syrup has reached the desired stage. when the thermometer reaches 115dc (240df), the mixture is at soft-ball stage., worry too much if you don tsp have a sugar thermometer , as fudge is fairly forgiving mixture, unlike hard sweets, for which a sugar thermometer is crucial., way to check for soft-ball stage is to drop a small amount of mixture into very cold water. when rolled between your thumb and index finger, it should form a soft ball., brushing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush dissolves any crystals which have formed on the sides of the pan. it is a good idea to do this if the recipe says to, but don tsp allow to much water to drip into the pan, as this will slow down the cooking process and interfere with the given time., other equipment, heavy-based pans are best for making fudge. because it is a high sugar content, the mixture can catch and burn if the pan has a thin base, such as those on aluminum pans., use a long-handled wooden spoon if the mixture is to be stirred while still hot, as wood will not conduct heat., as soon as the mixture is ready, remove the pan from the heat , place it on a wooden board or heatproof trivet and allow to cool as directed. the pan will be very hot so, if it has a metal handle, use a thick cloth around the handle when moving it., beating the mixture, mixture may be beaten while still hot , or may be asked to wait until has cooled. beating thickens the mixture and causes it to lose its gloss. the recipe will indicate whether to use a wooden spoon or electric beaters - it is not a good idea to use electric beaters in a very hot mixture. there is usually a fine line between the mixture reaching the desired consistency and being too firm and dry to spread into the tin, so watch it carefully as you work., warning, take great care with every step of the procedure, as hot sugar syrup is very dangerous, and heat will transfer to any heat-conducting equipment it comes in contact with. keep children well away from the hot mixture., always use a long-handled wooden spoon for stirring., if you do get burnt , hold the afflicted area under cold water to wash off the syrup and then keep the burn immersed in cold water for about 10 minutes.

steel cut oats, cherry 100% juice blend (old orchard makes great, inexpensive, 100% juice blends... check them out, water, heaping 1/4 cup dried cherries, a non heaping 1/4 cup of semi sweet (or milk, if you prefer) chocolate chips(i used minis), powdered sugar (to taste), vanilla, milk or cream, if desired

chocolate cake mix (or cake of your choice), cream cheese or 2 (12 oz) containers vanilla frosting, made orange, orange food coloring (i used red and yellow gel coloring to make ), ready-to-use green decorating icing

pie anytime (do your own make-ahead fruit pie filling), this is a make-ahead pie filling from freezer to oven. great way to use fresh fruit ., firm-ripe fresh fruit (less if berries), sugar, flour, lemon juice, ground cinnamon, salt

enough oil, ginger (finely chopped ), garlic clove (finely chopped ), chives (thin round slices), spoon of chipotle pure, won ton sheets or 4 large flour toritllas (if can tsp find the ), shrimp (remove shell and vein but live the tail), egg yolk (to seal), spoons of cilantro (finely chopped ), hard cream cheese (cut a little smaller then the size of the shrimp), about a hand full of baby spinach (thinly sliced ), sweet and sour sauce (you can buy it) or kabayaki sauce (you can make it) or eel sauce (which ever you want either 1 goes great) if you want to make this sauces the recipe and ingredients are on the bottom of the directions.

chopped cooked chicken, chopped celery, water, tomato juice, diced peeled potato (canned works great, but make sure to drain them), whole kernel corn, cooked drained lima beans (again, canned works great, make sure to drain ), sliced carrot (you guessed it, canned & drained), chicken bouillon granules, garlic powder, worcestershire sauce

english cucumber, natural yogurt, minced garlic, chopped dill, sunflower oil, chopped walnuts (optional) but great, cold water, kosher or grey salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste., fresh chopped chives make a nice topping and this is a great opening act for a heavy meal.

sugar cookie recipe, after trying over 50 sugar cookie recipes , i found this 1 to be my absolute favorite. i love this basic sugar cookie recipe for many reasons. it taste great. it is simple with few ingredients. it will maintain it s shape which makes the dough ideal for molding. you must chill the dough for a couple hours (or overnight is great) or it will be very sticky to work with., butter, softened, cream cheese, softened, sugar, egg, vanilla, all purpose flour, in large mixer bowl combine all cookie ingredients , except flour., beat at medium speed , scraping bowl often until creamy., reduce speed to low ; add flour. beat, scraping bowl often, until well mixed., divide dough into 2 equal portions; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate unitl firm (at least 2 hours)., heat oven to 350o. roll out on lightly floured surface or parchment paper. bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. remove from cookie sheets; cool completely., url : cookiedecorating.com, chocolate cut-out recipe, yummy! crisp chocolate cut-outs with a brownie-cookie type flavor. this dough should be chilled for an hour or two (or overnight) or it may be sticky to roll., butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, all purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, in large mixer bowl beat butter , sugar, egg and vanilla until well blended. in medium bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture and blend well., refrigerate dough about 1 hour or until firm enough to roll., preheat oven to 325o. on lightly floured surface or parchment paper, roll out dough. bake 5 to 7 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched., cookie sheets ; cool completely., url : cookiedecorating.com, run sugar, run sugar icing is the classic cookie icing. it is a smooth textured icing that forms a very hard crust. it is made by taking royal icing at it s fluffiest form and adding water to make it flow. when it dries, you can stack the cookies. this type of icing takes several hours to dry. the icing has a simple, flavor with some crunch., powdered sugar, meringue powder, gum arabic, cream of tarter, water, water, first , mix-up royal icing (use this recipe or follow instructions on the commercial royal icing), in small mixing bowl, combine water, meringue powder and cream of tarter., beat until stiff peaks form ., in separate bowl, combine powdered sugar and gum arabic. mix thouroughly, then add to meringue., beat on low , then medium speed until stiff peaks form. after the royal icing has been mixed, divide the mixture into several small containers and cover with wet towel. add a small amount of water to each batch until it us just barely fluid, not watery. test consistency by dropping a small amount from spoon onto waxed paper. it should smooth itself in about 10 seconds. if it runs too much, add more powdered sugar. if it is too thick, add a bit more water., remember : keep this icing covered when you are not using it. it dries out quickly. place the icing in a bag with a tip #3 or #4. outline the area to be covered. quickly fill in the outline. if the icing is running off the cookie, too much water was added to the royal icing. if the icing is not smooth, add a bit more water to the royal icing. when icing crusts, pipe adjoining color. for added dimension or outlining, allow icing to harden (several minutes) and pipe on the top., royal icing, is probably the most popular icing that cookie decorators use. it is preferable because it holds up very well if the cookies need to be stacked, shipped, stored, etc.. royal icing can be made into a very nice glaze and also works great for very fine detail work. the biggest problem with royal icing is that it dries hard as a rock, and also tends to dry out the cookies more than a buttercream icing would. the drying rock-hard isn tsp a big deal if you are doing a cookie that has a thin layer of glaze and some basic outlines or decorations, but if you need a cookie to have thick piping, the thick decorations would almost be impossible to eat in royal icing., meringue powder, powdered sugar, water, vanilla extract (use clear vanilla if you want a pure white icing), almond extract, beat all ingredients together until stiff peaks form (about 10 minutes). to vary the consistency, add water to thin and add powdered sugar to thicken.

elbow macaroni, butter (the original recipe calls for 9 tbsp. - i like to use 8 tbsp of unsalted - or 1 stick. you probably could get by with even less if you are so inclined...), shredded muenster cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, shredded monterey jack cheese, feel free to up the cheese quotient. and invite me for dinner! ), half-and-half, cubed processed cheese food (don tsp be a velveeta snob like i was - this makes the sauce so darn cheesy/creamy. if you want to remain a v-snob, then go for cream cheese, but it won tsp be the same. but hey, it s your thang - do what you wanna do. heh.), eggs, beaten, salt, dry mustard, ground black pepper, any combination ), ground meat, browned (turkey, chicken, beef, pork), breakfast sausage such as jimmy dean regular or hot (browned and drained - 1 lb.), keilbasa or andouille (cut into chunks and browned in a wee bit of olive oil), fresh chorizo, casing removed, browned and broken up, onion, diced and sauteed until translucent, jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (for a milder taste, use poblano, or go crazy and use serranos or a habanero), crushed red pepper flake to taste, roasted red pepper, chopped, i have even added, artichoke hearts, drained and loosely chopped, cheesy note : another great cheese combo and 1 of my favorite spins is using shredded asiago, provolone, mozzarella and a sharp cheddar. delish, use a pepper jack cheese in the mix . or a smoked cheddar. i adore cheese and it all works for me and makes this recipe wonderful, comforting and lusciously decadent.

jiffy cornbread mix, egg beaters egg substitute or 1/4 cup egg substitute, skim milk, fat free ranch dressing (or make your own 1 package. dry ranch salad dressing mix, 8 oz fat-free sour cream, and 1 cup low-fa), canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed, cranberry beans or 16 oz october beans, shredded low-fat sharp cheddar cheese, ripe summer tomatoes, diced and drained or 1 pint sweet grape tomatoes, cut in half, green bell pepper, diced, red bell pepper, diced, spring onions, thinly sliced (optional), chopped green chilies, drained, canned corn, drained, coarsely chopped romaine lettuce, frozen green pea, thawed, hormel real bacon bits (i use hormel or oscar mayer) (optional), cooked elbow macaroni (optional), black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained (optional), broccoli florets , cut into bite-size buds (optional), diced celery (optional), sliced water chestnuts, cut in quarters (optional), kidney beans, rinsed and drained (optional), canned great northern beans, rinsed and drained (optional), canned black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)

onion, diced, bell peppers, sliced, stewed tomatoes, flour, salt, pepper, all purpose greek seasoning, sirloin steaks, 3/4-inch thick (or whatever is on sale), cooking oil, water, beef bouillon cubes, garlic powder, basil, feta cheese (tomato basil feta works great)

frying chicken (cut up , or 3 lbs. chicken breasts (split), butter, noodles (we use whole grain egg , or spaetzle works great too), boiling salted water, chopped onion (we use red), flour, paprika, salt, chicken broth, sour cream , dairy, worcestershire sauce

risotto with sausage and cranberry beans, make risotto , you absolutely must use a specific type of rice called arborio rice (carnaroli and vialone nano are also used, some say superior, but are more difficult to find). these types of rice release starch when stirred in a liquid; it is this process which makes risotto, otherwise you just have a starchy mess of mush. these types of rice are identified by their fat round grains and pearly appearance. they can be used to make other sorts of rice dishes, such as pilaf, but other types of rice cannot be used for risotto. arborio is no longer that much of a specialty product; it can be found in most large, well-stocked grocery stores in the italian section. or sometimes, misguidedly, in the asian section., okay , so now we have the rice. you will also need some good, low-salt stock or broth - it should be low-salt not for health reasons, but because a good deal of it will evaporate, leaving its salt behind, and i like to have more control over the salt in a dish. it can be homemade, but i m not going to be a snob about it because, in truth, we go through gallons of store-bought stock in this household and i don tsp see that changing anytime soon. furthermore, risotto is actually a dish which can be whipped up out of thin air when it seems as though you have nothing to eat, as long as you have butter, rice, stock, maybe a few herbs, and some leftover parmesan. i like the kind of stock purchased in tetrapak cartons, because they are resealable and can be put in the fridge and used as needed. if you really want to use homemade but you don tsp have time to make stock or don tsp like the aroma of roasting bones in your house (i don tsp blame you), you can buy really great stock at north market poultry and game - it is expensive, but can be diluted with a 2- or 3-to-1 ratio of water to stock, so it stretches. my general guideline is to plan on 1/4 cup dry rice per person, and about 4 cups of stock to 1 cup of rice. of course, this isn tsp exact and will vary depending on your elevation and the phases of the moon, but it s a good place to start. i usually just use 4 cups of stock and then dilute with water or wine (or sometimes beer, if that s all i have) if i feel i m going to run out., well, we have rice and stock covered, now we just need our setup: place the stock in a saucepan on your rear burner, bring to a simmer, and leave it there with a 6-8 oz ladle in, and place a large, wide saute pan (must be really large, plan that your rice will at least quadruple in size) or dutch oven on the burner in front. get out your favorite wooden spoon and flex your stirring arm., nice thing about using sausage is it s so full of flavor you can leave out the usual onion/garlic/shallot/celery nonsense if you re tired and don tsp feel like chopping. furthermore, sausage goes from the freezer to the pan without suffering too much. okay, let s go, risotto with sausage and cranberry beans - serves 4, links italian sausage , or 1 lb bulk (or hot, or a combination - definitely with some fennel), casings removed, cooked cranberry beans or 1 can white beans, drained, arborio rice, beef , chicken or vegetable stock, butter, freshly, finely grated parmesan cheese , plus more for garnish, an oz) flat-leaf parsley, chopped finely, lemon juice , or juice from 1/2 lemon, salt and black pepper to taste, red pepper flakes to taste, optional, good balsamic vinegar , optional

i fell in love with this recipe. i love anything tomato based. this is like tomato sauce and chunks of all your favorite fish. you add whatever fish you like. and get a huge loaf of crusty bread and butter! i basically modify this recipe to my own sauce, so can you add what fish you like. just a great great recipe! you can make this your own! everyone thinks this is italian it is not. chip in . chip in as a call heard on the world famous fisherman s wharf in it s early heyday before world war ii. this was a call for san francisco s mainly italian immigrant fisherman coming home with their catch of pacific seafood to donate a small portion of their catch for a communal fish stew prepared on the docks. anything would do. a few clams, mussels. adding some red snapper, a crab or two, some scallops some halibut or flounder, anything to add to the fragrant stew that would soon be served to the club of san francisco fisherman who would talk about the days catch and dunk san francisco sour dough bread into the rich broth. eventually the broken english cries of chip in turned into chip-in-o . hence the name cioppino . this is a rich seafood stew with not much care as to how it was assembled. this consisted of throwing the days catch into a big pot and pouring sauce into the pot with the shellfish and chunks of what fish was available. let all these flavors enhance each other for awhile and you have the most flavorful and messy to eat stew that ever was., turns around the pan in a slow stream ) extra-virgin olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes, flat fillets of anchovies, drained, garlic, crushed, bay leaf, fresh or dried, celery ribs, chopped, onion, chopped, good quality dry white wine ( i am sure even beer works), chicken stock, chunky style crushed tomatoes, fresh thyme, leaves removed (about 1 tbsp), handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped, cod, cut into 2-inch chunks, salt and pepper, shrimp , ask for deveined easy-peel or peel and devein, sea scallops, raw mussels , scrubbed, a loaf of fresh , crusty bread, for mopping up!! or 2 loaves depending on quanity and people eating this.

garlic bread, this goes great with any italian dish , and is simple to make., garlic powder, oregano, basil, dired minced garlic, kosher salt, parmesean cheese, butter, softened, italian bread, preheat oven to 375 degrees. combine spices in a mortar in pestle, and grind until the salt and minced garlic have been broken down and combined. if you don tsp have a mortar and pestle, simply put the spices in a zip loc freezer bag, and beat with the flat side of a meat tenderizer or rolling pin until crushed and combined. slice loaf in half length wise, and spread each half with a half stick of butter. divide the spice mixture in half, and spread each half evenly over each piece of bread. wrap each half in aluminum foil and bake for about 15 minutes. to crisp it up a bit, open the foil up and bake another 5 to 7 minutes.

homemade pretzels, great recipe to make your own pretzels ., pk yeast ; active, dry, water, warm 110-120 degrees, salt, sugar, flour; unbleached, egg; large, beaten, salt (coarse ), instructions, dissolve yeast in warm water, add salt and sugar to yeast mixture, blend in flour and knead dough until smooth, about 7 to 8, minutes, cover and let dough rise until double in bulk, punch down, cut dough into small pieces and roll into ropes, ropes into pretzel shapes and place on greased cookie, using a pastry brush , bursh pretzels with egg and sprinkle, coarse salt, allow pretzels to rise until almost double in bulk, bake at 425 degrees f for 10 to 15 minutes or until browned, makes 12 6-inch pretzels .