Rocky Road

This is a Christmas must for our family! My 90-year old Grammy has been making this fudge-like treat for years. The recipe is from her mother, my great-grandma, so it's a pretty old-fashioned way to make fudge. The picture is of her on her birthday - isn't she so cute? =)

Rocky Road

-Katherine Nicolai

Ingredients:

1# semi-sweet chocolate

2 sticks butter (1 cup)

22-30 large marshmallows, cut into quarters

1 c chopped nuts (we mostly use walnuts)

Melt butter and chocolate and stir together. Distribute nuts and marshmallows into buttered 13x9 (or smaller) pan. Pour chocolate over and mix lightly to combine. Chill. Cut into squares and serve.

Chicken Chilaquiles

Great way to use up leftover chicken - or just buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and shred it. The feta was a surprisingly good topping for this. Yum!

Chicken Chilaquiles

-Everyday Food

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes in puree

2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped (1 big T), plus 1 T adobo sauce (from same can)

coarse salt

4 c cooked and shredded chicken

1/2 c lightly packed cilantro leaves, chopped (reserve some for garnish)

4 c (3 oz) tortilla chips

1/4 c sour cream

1.75 oz (about 1/4 c) feta cheese, crumbled 

Combine oil and garlic in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 1 - 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes with their puree (breaking tomatoes up), chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, and 1 c water. Bring all to a boil; season with salt. Reduce heat and simmer rapidly until lightly thickened, 6-8 minutes.

Add chicken and cook, stirring, until hot, about 1 minute. Remove from heat; stir in chopped cilantro.

Divide chips among four shallow bowls; top with chicken mixture and sauce. Garnish with cilantro, sour cream and feta.

Grandma's Pancakes and Homemade Syrup

My Grandma would wake up early every single morning and make her husband and kids a different hot breakfast. These delicious, melt-in-your-mouth pancakes were just one of her specialties!

Grandma's Buttermilk Pancakes

-Betty Allard

Ingredients:

1 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, separated

1 1/2 c buttermilk

Sift together flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt into bowl.

Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Mix egg yolks and buttermilk together in big bowl, then slowly add dry ingredients. Carefully fold in beaten egg whites. 

Fry on griddle on medium heat in size of sand dollars. Serve with Homemade Syrup (below).

Homemade Syrup

Ingredients:

1 c white sugar

1 c brown sugar

1 c water

1/2 tsp mapeline

Boil all ingredients together, stirring occasionally. 

Mom's Banana Bread

So moist and yummy! =) My lovely mother is in the middle in the picture.

Mom's Banana Bread

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

3 1/2 c sifted all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp baking soda

2 c mashed, ripe bananas

2 T lemon juice

3/4 c shortening

1 1/2 c sugar

3 eggs

3/4 c milk

1/2 c chopped walnuts or pecans

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Combine bananas and lemon juice; mix well. 

Cream together shortening and sugar in bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs and beat thoroughly until very light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk; fold in bananas and nuts. Beat after each addition. 

Pour into 2 greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks. Wrap in foil/plastic wrap. Makes 2 loaves.

Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

I have to admit, this is the only gumbo recipe I've tried. But it's so good, I'm afraid to waste all this effort on a new one! It's delicious and so hearty. It takes a little time and work (do all the prep before you start!), but it's so worth it. People are always impressed with the end result. Have fun!

P.S. You can substitute cubed chicken for the shrimp, if desired. Add it in with the sausage.

Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/2 c all-purpose flour

4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

2 green bell peppers, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

2 tsp salt

2 tsp dried oregano, crumbled

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

5 8-ounce bottles clam juice (when I'm serving people who aren't big seafood fans, I split the 40 ounces between clam juice and chicken broth)

1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes

1 lb smoked andouille or kielbasa sausage, halved lengthwise, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1/2 lb okra, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch-thick slices

2 lbs uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined

Freshly cooked long-grain rice

2 tomatoes, seeded, diced

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until almost smoking. Add flour and stir until dark red-brown, about 8 minutes. (If this is your first time making a roux, don't get scared with this step! My first time I made this, I didn't let the roux get dark enough because I thought it would taste burnt. The second time I was more adventurous and my darker roux noticeably deepened the flavor of the gumbo!)

Immediately add celery, onions, bell peppers, and garlic. Cook 5 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of pan often. Mix in bay leaves, salt, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Add clam juice, chicken broth if using, canned tomatoes and sausage. Boil 15 minutes.

Add okra, reduce heat and simmer until okra is tender, about 15 minutes. (This can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Add shrimp to gumbo and simmer until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. 

Mound cooked rice in soup bowls. Ladle gumbo over. Sprinkle with tomatoes.

Vegetable Burritos

I love this recipe! There's a slight crunch and sweetness from the roasted veggies, a perfect spice from the adobo in the rice, and the Monterey Jack cheese blends in perfectly with everything. I also often make this rice alone, as I always have adobo on hand. I buy a small can and keep the leftovers in a small glass jar I have. It lasts a long time!

Vegetable Burritos

-Everyday Food

Serves 4

Ingredients:

coarse salt and ground pepper

1/2 c brown rice

1 1/2 tsp minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo

4 bell peppers (red and yellow), ribs and seeds removed, cut into 1 inch thick strips

4 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise

1 T olive oil

1 T chili powder

6 oz baby spinach leaves, thinly sliced

4 tortillas (10 in)

3/4 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese (3oz)

1/2 c prepared salsa

Preheat oven to 450. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/3 c water and 1 tsp salt to a boil. Stir in rice and chipotle. Return to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Cover; cook until rice is tender, about 45 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, until dry, about 15 minutes. Fluff with fork.

Meanwhile, in a roasting pan, toss bell peppers and carrots with oil and chili powder. Season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are fork-tender and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven; toss with spinach to wilt.

Warm tortillas. Wrap burritos, dividing rice, cheese and veggies equally among tortillas. Serve with salsa.

Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins

I go in "only healthy food" phases. Then I binge on my weaknesses, chips and ice cream. I tried this recipe during a health food phase, and they have now become a regular friend - healthy on purpose or not!

Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins

-Everyday Food, Jan/Feb '09

Ingredients:

1 c whole-wheat flour

3/4 c all-purpose flour

1/4 c wheat germ

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 c granulated sugar

1/3 c brown sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 ripe bananas (approx. 1 lb)

1/3 c 2% milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 c frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners, or spray with non-stick cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 c); stir in milk and vanilla.

With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries. 

Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 25-28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 mins, then transfer to a rack and cool another 10 minutes.

Creamy Pesto Rotelle Chicken Salad

This makes me think of summer and home. Good as a light meal on its own, or accompanied by anything grilled. Sometimes we omit the chicken in the salad and have grilled chicken alongside. Delicious! 

*Credit to my sister, Stephanie, at right, for getting us this recipe =)

Creamy Pesto Rotelle Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast, cooked and cubed

1 basket cherry tomatoes, halved

3 green onions, chopped

1/3 c toasted pine nuts

1 lb rotelle pasta, cooked until al dente and rinsed under cold water to stop cooking

Dressing:

3/4 c mayo

1/2 c water

1/2 c pesto (store-bought or homemade)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix dressing ingredients together in a large bowl until creamy and well blended. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add all other ingredients and mix well until everything is coated evenly.

Paella

Paella is a wonderful rice dish, often made with seafood. My uncle is Spanish and he and his family live in Madrid. Many a family gathering here in the states (and in Spain!) are accompanied - or centered around - this delicious dish. In Spain, my aunt often uses rabbit as the protein. While delicious, it is hard for me to find here in the States, so I use chicken. Here is her very authentic, tried and true paella recipe.

Paella (chicken) 

-Gayle Bolorinos-Allard

9 cups water

olive oil (1 cup plus 3T at most)

1 small onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

whole head garlic, each clove peeled

1 bunch parsley

whole chicken, about 5 lbs, cut up into legs, thighs, breasts

4 cups pearl (arborio) rice

2 packets paella spice mix*

1 red bell pepper, prepared for garnish**

Boil 9 cups water in big pot.

While water is heating up, fry onion, green pepper, tomato and garlic in 1 cup oil (I use less) in large frying pan. When garlic is soft almost all the way through, transfer vegetables to pot of water, reserving as much oil as possible in pan. Add parsley to water.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken in remaining oil. Do not cook through. Transfer to boiling water. Boil vegetables and chicken for 15 minutes.

While broth is boiling, heat barbeque (both gas and charcoal grills work) to med-high heat. 

In paella pan on grill, add the rice and 2T oil. Brown rice, but DO NOT burn. The rice is the most important part of paella, so be patient, stir often, and watch carefully. 

When rice is browned, add spice packets and stir so the rice is coated. Carefully add all the broth from the pot. Next place chicken around the pan on top of the rice. Sprinkle 1 T salt over everything. Bring to a boil. Cook 15 minutes. Watch it carefully and redistribute liquid so the rice cooks evenly. Add minimal water if necessary.

After 15 minutes, remove pan from heat. Place prepared red pepper in a star (or any design you want - get creative!). Cover with kitchen towels and let sit for another 15 minutes.

Serve with lemon wedges.

*My aunt gives me these packets directly from Spain, and I don't know an equivalent for them. They are called "Paella valenciana con Azafran". I have two brands: Ducros and Carmencita. The ingredients translate in order as: turmeric, pimenton, garlic, laurel, Jamaican pepper, cilantro, saffron, [clavo] (translates as "nail" so I don't know what this ingredient is), black pepper.

**Prepared red pepper: Fry 1 sliced red pepper in 1T oil. Set aside for later.

My dad always helps me make paella. Thanks Daddy =)