Category: MISC

From our house to yours we wish you a Happy New Year full of love, happiness, health and everything you deserve!

This is a perfect, crisp side for any meal, but especially loved by my family with a carb heavy meal.

SNAP PEA SALAD
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons avocado oil
2 tablespoons QUALITY honey
Juice of 1 FRESH lemon
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
2 LARGE green onions, minced
1 pound sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved

• Whisk together the vinegar, oil, honey, lemon juice, FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper until well blended.
• Add pea pieces and minced green onions to a medium bowl and toss together.
• Drizzle vinaigrette over top and toss again.
• Chill several hours before srving.
  

CRANBERRY LIME PIE 8 Servings adapted from Ann Redding & Matt Danzer

In this luscious pie, key lime meets a luscious cranberry curd to create a heavenly mouthful of flavor.

CRUST
4 ounces gingersnap cookies (about 16 if using Nabisco) (1 cup crumbs)
1 cup pecans
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons light brown sugar

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Pulse cookies in a food processor until very finely ground.
• Add pecans; pulse until finely ground.
• Add butter and brown sugar; pulsing to combine.
• Transfer to a deep 9″ pie dish. Using your fingers or a measuring cup, press firmly onto bottom and up sides of dish.
• Bake 10-15 minutes until firm and slightly darkened in color. If crust slides down sides, gently press back up.
• Let cool completely.


NOTE: Crust can be baked 1 day ahead. wrap tightly and store at room temperature.

FILLING & ASSEMBLY
1 12-ounce package FRESH (or frozen, thawed) cranberries, plus 4 ounces (about 1¼ cups) for serving OPTIONAL
1 cup + 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup sugar, divided
¼ orange juice
½ cup water
3 LARGE eggs
2 LARGE egg yolks
1 teaspoon FINELY grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons FINELY grated lime zest, divided
½ cup FRESH key lime juice
Pinch of kosher salt
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
Whipped cream (optional)

• Bring 12 ounces of the cranberries, 1 cup of the granulated sugar, and orange juice to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Reduce heat; simmer 12-15 minutes until cranberries burst and most of the liquid evaporates.
• Let cool.
• Purée in a blender until very smooth.

• Add the purée, eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest, lime juice, salt, ½ cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon of lime zest to a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (bowl should not touch water), stirring with a rubber spatula 8-10 minutes and scraping down sides of bowl often, until curd thickens and coats spatula.
• Let cool until just warm.

• Using an electric mixer on medium-high, beat curd about 5 minutes, adding butter a piece at a time and incorporating after each addition, until curd looks lighter in color and texture.
• Scrape into crust and chill until firm, about 2 hours.


• OPTIONAL from here: Bring ½ cup granulated sugar and ½ cup water to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
• Add remaining 4 ounces of the cranberries and cook 1 minute until barely starting to soften.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer cranberries to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet.
• Chill 20–30 minutes until no longer sticky.

• Toss remaining ½ cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon lime zest in a small bowl.
• Toss chilled cranberries in lime sugar.
• Top pie with cranberries; serve with whipped cream if desired.



NOTE: Pie can be made 2 days ahead. Cover once filling is firm and keep chilled. Let sit at room temperature 2 hours before serving.

BLENDED 5 CHEESE PASTA adapted from Ree Drummond  serves 8

1 pound fusilli (or desired shape)
6 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
2 teaspoons chopped FRESH thyme
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, grated
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated white Cheddar
1/2 cup grated Romano
1/2 cup grated Gruyère
FRESH ground sea salt AND black pepper, to taste
1 cup mozzarella balls, quartered
3 green onions, sliced thin and separated (greens are for garnish)

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Add the pasta and cook for 1 to 2 minutes less than the package instructions.
  Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, then drain and set aside.
• Cook the bacon in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.
• With a slotted spoon remove bacon pieces to paper toweling to drain and remove all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease. Add butter to melt.
• Add the thyme, onions and garlic to the skillet and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook until mostly evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the cream and heat until bubbly, 30 seconds.
• Gradually add the fontina, Cheddar, Romano and Gruyère in handfuls, letting each melt into the cream before adding the next cheese.
• Add the pasta to the skillet along with a good pinch of salt and pepper and half the bacon pieces, tossing everything together, thinning with the reserved pasta water as needed.
• Divide the pasta into 8-ounce individual gratin dishes or 1 baking dish.
• Place casserole on a baking sheet.
• Divide the mozzarella pearl pieces over the top of the pasta.
• Position oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to broil.
• Broil 3-4 minutes on the center rack until the mozzarella pearls are brown and the pasta is bubbling.
• Remove and garnish with the remaining cooked bacon and sliced green onions.

PASTEL DEVILED EGGS

This recipe is making the rounds these days and is absolutely perfect for the late Easter this year. These colored deviled eggs will make a beautiful addition to any Easter table! Also fun to do for baby or wedding showers as well.

EGGS
12 LARGE eggs

• Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water.
• Set pan over medium-high heat and bring water to a boil.
• Turn off heat, cover pan with a lid and let sit for 12 minutes.
• Drain and rinse eggs under cold water.

FILLING
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons pickle juice
2 teaspoons QUALITY mustard
4 tablespoons FINELY chopped dill pickles
FRESH ground sea salt and pepper (to taste)

• Peel shells off of the eggs.
• Cut eggs in half lengthwise and scoop out yolks into a bowl.
• Add mayonnaise, pickle juice, and mustard to bowl, then mash the yolks and stir until mixture is smooth.
• Stir in minced pickles and then season with salt and pepper.
• Place the mixture in a large ziplock bag. Set aside.

DYE
6-8 ounces water in a cup
1 teaspoon white vinegar
GEL Food coloring* SEE NOTE

• Stir desired color of food coloring into cups of water.
• Add the vinegar to the colored water.
• Gently place boiled and peeled eggs into the cups.
• Let the eggs soak in the colored water for at least 10 minutes until desired shade is achieved.
• While the eggs are soaking in food colored water prepare the deviled eggs from the recipe above.
• Gently remove the colored eggs with a large slotted spoon and place them on a stack of paper towels to dry.
• Pat dry with additional paper towels.
• Cut the tip off of the ziplock bag, your DIY piping bag and fill the egg halfs with the prepared egg mixture.
• Garnish as desired with paprika, creamed horseradish or a favorite spicy mustard.

NOTE: You can use “regular” food coloring, but gel makes a cleaner consistent color.

When I was searching my recipe file (a big old tote full of scraps) I found two other even older scraps of recipes (Chicken with Tarragon Sauce and Baked Tomatoes with Broccoli stuffing) that had been torn from old cookbooklets, one was even handwritten it was so old. They also begged me to make them. I often substitute thyme or flat leaf parsley for the tarragon or mix and match them based on what I have on hand.

CHICKEN with TARRAGON SAUCE 4 servings

This is comfort food at its finest – maybe serve it with homemade mashed potatoes and sautéed fresh green beans?

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5-6 ounces each)
1/4 cup flour, for dredging
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 shallot, chopped
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons minced FRESH tarragon
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

• Pound chicken breasts with a meat mallet to 1/2 inch thickness.
• Sprinkle chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper.
• In a large skillet, heat butter and oil over medium heat.
• Add chicken, searing 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
• Add shallot to same pan, cooking and stirring over medium heat until tender.
• Add lemon juice and sherry vinegar.
• Add most of the tarragon.
• Add cream, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Increase heat to medium high, simmering until slightly thickened.
  
• Serve with chicken.
• Sprinkle with remaining tarragon as garnish.