Sugar Bombs

I started making this sweet when I had to make a dessert for the staff party, but didn't have eggs or flour. Time was a bit rushed so I decided to try and experiment with some of the materials on hand and came up with a delicious chocolate peanut butter combination. I shared them at the staff party, and later made them again for my students. I led an after-school Russian club for the some high school students and brought some of the candy in as a treat. Such giddiness followed the consumption of these sweets that the teens dubbed them "sugar bombs" and warned that they were fairly dangerous. If you need a sugar rush, these are for you!
The great thing about this recipe is even if you mess up some on the directions its not really a big deal - its all going to the same place!


Sugar Bombs
Ingredients:
one package semi-sweet chocolate chips
one package peanut butter chips (unless you mess up, then you'll need another cup or so)
2 cups or so of mini-marshmallows (more is generally better, I do it by eye honestly)
1 cup or more of broken up peanuts (more if you like peanuts a lot, less if you don't like them)

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave (make sure not to burn if in microwave). Remove from heat and let cool a moment or two. Stir in peanut butter chips-- the idea is to have about half of the chips melt and the other half stay fairly intact. If you mess up and they all melt, just let the chocolate cool some more and then add another cup of peanut butter chips.
Stir in mini-marshmallows and peanuts.

Pour mixture into foil-lined baking pan (13x9 for very thin candies or 8x8 for fat candies- I like 'em fat).

Cool in fridge till hard. Cut into chunks and enjoy-- but beware overindulging!

Couldn't get any easier, hmm?

Magic Bars

These bars are incredible!!! Growing up I ate something like this at Bruegger's Bagels down in Raleigh, NC. I'm not sure if Brueggers are still selling them, or if they are the same bar. Some people call this a "seven-layer" bar, but since I've ditched the nuts it doesn't quite make "seven" layers! You can play around with this recipe substituting one kind of baking chips for another, etc., but my favorites are chocolate and butterscotch. Keep a glass of milk nearby while eating these!


Magic Bars

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 stick of butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
handful of toffee chips (if desired)
1 bag of butterscotch chips
1 bag of chocolate chips (semi-sweet or dark is best in my opinion)
1 1/2 cups coconut (or so)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 13x8 pan with aluminum foil. Melt the stick of butter in the baking pan in the oven.
Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs onto the butter, mix and press to make a firm-ish crust with butter evenly distributed.
Pour the can of sweetened condensed milk over the top of the crust.
Sprinkle a handful of toffee chips over the milk.
Follow suit with the bag of butterscotch chips, taking care to evenly distribute the chips.
Do the same with the chocolate chips.
And also with the coconut. :-)

Back for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Try not to keep them all to yourself!

Millionaire's Shortbread

Well holiday cooking has started, with the first family party this weekend. I've made a few treats to bring along, and thought I would post the recipes and pictures. This shortbread is delicious, but you almost want to enjoy the shortbread separate- I'll have to make plain shortbread soon. The chocolate and "caramel" make this a very decadent dessert, but the shortbread keeps it from being overwhelmingly sweet (for overwhelmingly sweet see "Sugar Bombs" and "Magic Bars" :-).

This was easy to make, but it takes a while since you have to let each layer cool completely.

Millionaire's Shortbread

Ingredients:

for shortbread bottom layer

1 1/2 cups flour

1 stick butter

3 1/2 tbsp light brown sugar

for caramel center

4 tbsp butter

3 tbsp light brown sugar

can condensed milk

top layer

6 oz dark chocolate chips or bar finely chopped

Directions:

Grease a 9 inch baking pan and preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl rub bits of the butter into the flour and mix with your fingers until it looks like bread crumbs.

Add the brown sugar and mix with your hands, pressing together to form a more firm dough. Press the dough into the greased pan and use a fork to prick in a couple spots.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes, bottom layer should be lightly golden. Let this cool completely.

For the "caramel" middle layer, cook butter, sugar and condensed milk over a gentle heat. Make sure to keep stirring until it comes to a boil. Lower the heat and keep cooking until the caramel is coming away from the sides of the pan and is a light golden color. Pour over the shortbread bottom layer and let cool completely.

When the middle layer has firmed up enough, melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler (or in the microwave I suppose).

Spread the melted chocolate over the caramel and then refrigerate the whole thing. Later cut into squares (like bars) and serve!

Yum, I wish I had one right now!

Red Cabbage and Apples

This is a delicious side dish to make if you happen to have a red cabbage and want to be creative. It tastes great and is reasonably quick and easy to make. Everyone loved it! With cinnamon and brown sugar, who wouldn't love this vegetable?

Ingredients:

1 red cabbage

1 large apple

1 tsp cinnamon (or more)

2 tbsp brown sugar (or more)

1 mug water

cooking oil, butter, etc.

Cut cabbage into thin slices while you heat the oil in a deep frying pan. Add the cabbage to the oil (with butter if desired) and saute for five minutes or so, making sure to stir so the slices cook evenly.

Peel the apple and slice strips or grate. Add the grated apple, cinnamon, brown sugar and water to the frying pan with the cabbage.

Stir while you simmer until most of the water has evaporated. Or just drain after five minutes if its already dinner time!

Serve hot and enjoy!

Polish Chicken Bitki (pictures were all terrible- sorry!)

This is not a family recipe for ground chicken, but one I have discovered in cookbooks. On the web there are multiple listings for "bitki," some Polish, some Ukrainian, some Russian . . . all different! I finally decided to try it, but wound up overcooking just a bit. They were still very tasty, so I can only imagine they would taste better if not overcooked :-)

I served them with an option of ketchup or sour cream. The women chose sour cream and the men chose ketchup. Go figure!



Chicken Bitki

Ingredients:
16oz ground chicken
2 eggs separated
3 tbsp butter
7oz mushrooms, diced
1 1/4 cups bread crumbs
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper
3tbsp flour
4 tbsp cooking oil (I tried with enova, canola and olive oil- it all tasted good)





Melt the butter in a frying pan and saute diced mushroom until soft and most of the juices have cooked off. Let the mushrooms cool while you mix the chicken, egg yolks, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Then mix in the mushrooms



Whisk the egg white until stiff (using a hand mixer would really help!), and stir half of the whites into the chicken mixture. Then fold the rest into the mixture.



With clean hands shape the chicken mixture into small long meatballs about three inches long and one inch wide. Dip meatballs into the flour and give them a good coating.



Heat your cooking oil in a frying pan and fry each bitki on each side until golden brown and cooked through. You may need to add more oil as you go through batches of meatballs.



Enjoy!

Winter Squash with Maple Syrup

I was assigned the task of cooking a few baby pumpkins we had lying around, and I decided to do some research. In a vegetarian cookbook I found a recipe that suggested baking with honey and butter, in another I found a suggestion for soy sauce. I put some different ingredients together and came up with a delicious recipe to cook pumpkin or other winter squash, like butternut. The squash tastes so good that it is now a regular request at our house.

Ingredients

squash (multiple baby pumpkins, butternut squash, or other)

1/2 cup melted butter (or as my grandmother says, "buddah")

1/2 cup maple syrup (real maple syrup, NO high fructose corn syrup!)

1/3 cup tamari soy sauce

salt and pepper

paprika

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a large baking dish with flour or oil baking spray.

Prepare squash by removing ends, any gooey innards, seeds, etc.

Slice squash into crescents (half-moon also alright) and place in baking dish.

Drizzle melted butter over the squash making sure to distribute evenly. Do the same with the maple syrup and then the soy sauce.

Sprinkle with some salt and pepper, season generously with paprika.

Cover the dish tight with foil and back for 30-50 minutes (keep checking) until the squash is tender to a fork.
Remove foil, raise oven temperature to 500 degrees and bake uncovered 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Concord Grape Pie

Across the street from our house we have delicious Concord grapes that grow wild. There were so many of them this year, we harvested them and tried to find a good recipe. We were about to start making jam when we saw the idea of a grape pie. Even though it sounded strange, this pie tastes amazing. It is both sweet and tart, soothing and instigating- a terrific pie. I've made it twice so far, and both times it has been a pie with a shockingly delicious full taste. I didn't get a picture of a slice of the pie, because it was eaten much too quickly. If you have Concord grapes- make this pie!





Concord Grape Pie

5 cups Concord Grapes, gently rinsed
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp flour
juice of half a lemon
2 tbsp butter


For topping

3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter




Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove skin from grapes, but save the skins for later. This is the lengthiest part of the preparation! Remove any gross or rotten looking grapes and skins.





Simmer grape pulp on the stove for about five minutes. When pulp gets nice and soft and squishy transfer to the food mill. Press through a sieve or food mill, which removes the pits.



Mix skins and pulp together in a bowl.



Combine the cup of sugar with the 4 tablespoons of flour and then add to the grapes, stirring well. Squeeze out the juice of half a lemon into the mixture, or use 1 tbsp or so of lemon juice. Add 2 tbsp butter (this is easier if you've melted the butter).


Pour the mixture into the pie shell (it is fantastic if you've made your own pie shell, but I definitely did not).



Now its time to make the topping which is crucial to the overall taste of the pie.





Blend 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/3 cup melted butter. With clean hands sprinkle the mixture over the top of the pie until covered loosely with all the topping.




Bake at 350 for 40 -45 minutes. This pie will make your whole house smell delicious!

Bison Meatloaf

My brother and father both claimed this was the best meatloaf they had ever eaten. Were they exaggerating? You'll have to judge for yourself, but I LOVED it!

Bison Meatloaf
1 lb ground bison meat (1lb is the package size from my grocery store)
1 tbsp butter (or more)
1 small onion diced
1 large clove garlic minced (or more!)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup half and half
1 1/2 tbsp ketchup
1 1/4 cups bread crumbs (the fresher the better, but from a box will work just fine)

Glaze: (amounts are suggestions, you can play around with these)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar (or white or red wine vinegar)
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Melt the butter in a skillet/frying pan and saute the onions and garlic in it until nice and soft. Set aside.

Mix together the eggs, seasonings, ketchup and half and half.



With clean hands blend in the bison meat into the mixture. When the liquid is well distributed add the onions and garlic.
Add the bread crumbs and mix well.



Place the meatloaf into one or two meatloaf pans, depending on the size of your pans. Bake in 325 degree oven for 30-50 minutes, checking that the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees. Take meatloaf out and spread glaze over the loaves, then return to oven until the temperature reaches 165 degrees.

For the glaze:
Put the dark brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar in a saucepan. Heat to simmer, stirring constantly to dissolve the brown sugar. Once everything is dissolved and well mixed (maybe 5 minutes or so), you can pour the glaze on the meatloaf.


Delicious!

Chocolate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies and Bars

I wanted something sweet the other night and decided to look at the recipe on the back of the Reese's Peanut Butter Chips bag. It looked delicious- but like it was missing something- chocolate chips, and some deeper cocoa flavors. The dough was so thick my hand held mixer actually burned out (I could smell it!). So maybe consider switching to hand mixing towards the end.

The cookies turned out really yummy, but the bars are absolutely fantastic. I think my mother's eyes rolled into the back of her head when she tasted the bars. 4 stars for this recipe!!

Chocolate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

2 cup flour

1/2 cup Hershey's European Style Cocoa

1/4 cup Ghirardelli Unsweetened Cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 sticks butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 package Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

1/2 package Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips

Parchment paper for lining baking sheet

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir the flour, cocoas, baking soda and salt together and then set aside. Beat the butter and sugar until they are creamy and fluffy, then add the eggs and vanilla. Continue to beat with a mixer. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing well.

When all the ingredients are well incorporated add the peanut butter chips and the dark chocolate chips. This dough tasted delicious!

I usually line my baking sheet with parchment paper, which helps the cookies bake evenly and avoid burning (due to high sugar content!).

Form teaspoon size balls and place on baking sheet, with enough space for spreading. Bake 8-9 minutes, but don't over bake. Let cookies cool on tray for a few minutes before moving to wire rack/parchment paper/newspaper, etc.

Chocolate Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Follow directions above, but instead of dropping cookie dough onto baking sheet, spread dough into 8x8 greased baking pan and cook for 20 minutes.

I had enough dough for about 20 small cookies and an 8x8 pan of bars.

Happy eating!

Too many Tomatoes! Casserole

Our garden produced an amazing amount of tomatoes this year, and by October we were looking for new ways to consume them. I found a recipe for Thracian Tomato Casserole which claimed to be typical of the Thracian region of southern Bulgaria. I decided to change the recipe a bit to fit our needs more (namely, I added cheese!). Also I was working with cherry tomatoes, so the look is very different.

Too many Tomatoes! Casserole

2 1/4 lb tomatoes, sliced

3 tbsp chopped parsley

2.5 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp sugar

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp paprika

salt

chopped or dried parsley

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1tbsp dried chives

1 tbsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and brush a casserole dish with 1 tbsp or so of the oil.

Place sliced tomatoes into the dish so that they overlap and layer. If you are using large tomatoes you can make a pretty layered look, but if you are using cherry tomatoes you can't really worry too much about how it looks- just get them in there!

Sprinkle the tomatoes with the sugar and salt.

In a bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, paprika and remaining olive oil.

Sprinkle the mixture over the tomatoes.

Sprinkle chives and parsley over the casserole.

Bake for 40-50 minutes. If the topping starts getting too brown, cover the dish with foil.

Serve hot or cold, with bread, or without!

Russian Chicken Cutlets

I'm not sure if this is an actual Russian recipe- but the dill definately brings out an Eastern European flavor! This recipe is an easy and quick way to make a meal out of ground chicken or turkey.

Russian Chicken cutlets

2 rolls white bread, or two slices italian, french, or hearty white bread, crusts removed

1/3 cup half and half

1.3 lb ground chicken or turkey (one package)

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/2 tsp dill

5 tbsp butter , 3 of them at room temperature

1 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp (or so) olive oil for frying

Break the bread into bits and soak with half and half until the fairly saturated (at least two minutes). Add in the egg, chicken, salt, pepper and dill and 3 tbsp of butter at room temperature. I added a lot more dill than listed- probably 2 tsp at least. After mixing stick the bowl in the freezer or fridge to harden up a bit for 8-12 minutes.

Form mixture into patties (it will still be very soft and pliable), and coat them with bread crumbs.

Heat the remaining butter and oil over a medium heat and lightly fry the cutlets until the are a nice golden brown, at least 4 minutes per side.

Serve with a nice Russian salad, or some Polish pampushki!

Yummy Recipe for Beet Greens

Our garden has an overabundance of beet greens- even late in the season. You can just steam beet greens and serve them with butter, but its nice to have something a little more interesting once in a while. I've tried this recipe 4 times and I have found that you need to stick to the directions fairly closely, otherwise you will overcook or over flavor your beet greens!

Yummy Beet Greens Recipe
1 lb beet greens (you can soak to wash, and rinse heavily)
3 cloves garlic, sliced or minced
1 tbs butter (or more :)
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon paste (or 1/2 chicken bouillon cube)
1/4 cup water

Bring the water to a busy boil and add the washed beet greens. You may have to wait for the first batch to cook down a bit before you can add the rest. Add in the garlic. Make sure to stir regularly to move the beet greens around- otherwise some will cook much more than others. As the beet greens cook down and the water has evaporated a bit, add the butter.

Turn the heat down to a med-low setting depending on your stove. Cook for 4-6 minutes after the beet greens wilted.

Mix together the bouillon cube with the olive oil. Add to the beet greens after the butter has melted.

Stir stir stir!! Drain, and serve with salt and pepper if desired.

Easy Pan-Fried Chicken

This recipe was created by my father. We've been using Japanese Bread Flakes for pan-fries (we don't do many deep-fries around here) and the result is a meat that doesn't feel like its going to clog your arteries! This is a nice easy main course for a meal. It was also very delectable- I look forward to trying it again!

Easy Pan-Fried Chicken (and Mushrooms)

Ingredients:

chicken tenders (or chicken breasts cut/pounded thin)

1 egg

dash of water

Japanese Bread Crumbs

Seasonings (Creole mix suggested)

Olive Oil

Mushrooms, whole or sliced

Directions:

Mix egg and water to create an egg wash. Dip chicken in egg wash.

Mix Creole Seasonings (or Italian, Parmesan, whatever) with Japanese Bread Crumbs. Dip chicken in bread crumb mix.

Put olive oil in cast iron skillet (enough to just barely coat the pan). Add chicken and surround with mushrooms. Cook on high until the bottom sides of the chicken strips are brown and crispy. Flip chicken over, cover the skillet with a saucepan lid (it is okay if its a bit to small) and reduce heat. If you keep the heat around low-medium you can let the other side of the chicken heat slowly while you fix the other vegetables to go with dinner (we had mashed potatoes, string beans and asparagus).

When ready cut largest strip in middle to make sure there is no pink left.

Voila!

Failed Fudge Brownies

Failed Fudge Brownies; Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Brownies

The other night we had to search the freezer for dessert, so I knew it was time to whip something up. I had a short window of time in the afternoon and I was planning to make either Chocolate Mint Brownies or Raspberry Brownies but tragedy struck-- I had no eggs! What could I make without eggs? Easy - Fudge! Luckily right there in the pantry was a can of sweetened condensed milk, and I always keep chocolate on hand so I knew it would be possible! I had never made Chocolate Raspberry Fudge before, and I was eager to try. I scanned the Internet but was not thrilled with any of the recipes I found. Most of them used processed raspberry flavor, and I wanted to use the frozen raspberries in the freezer. I started playing (my mistake!) and came up with a recipe that incorporated dark and bittersweet 60% cocao chocolate with our homemade maple syrup, some vanilla, raspberry preserves, and LOTS of raspberries!

The resulting "fudge" was delicious but too soft and never "set." After a little more research I realized that you can't play around with fudge- it is an exact science, and adding ingredients willy-nilly is just asking for trouble! The result was so delicious that I was determined to salvage the mess. I made failed fudge brownies, Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Frosting for cupcakes, and Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Syrup for ice cream.

Failed Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Recipe

11.5 oz (1 bag) Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips

6 oz( about half bag) Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips

5 oz frozen raspberries

1/3 cup homemade maple syrup (you can buy maple syrup, just make sure it is the real stuff and doesn't have any high fructose corn syrup in it!)

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 tsp Raspberry Jam (I used Polaner's All Fruit)

1 tsp Vanilla

I first mixed together the raspberries and maple syrup and let them sit while I cooked- my idea was to let the raspberries melt a little and to let the maple syrup infuse the fruit.

I melted the chips in a double boiler and added the sweetened condensed milk after the chips were melting. I mixed fairly continuously to make sure the chocolate didn't overheat or burn.

After the chocolate was thoroughly melted I turned the heat way down and added the vanilla and raspberry preserves, followed by the maple syrup and raspberry mixture. It looked and tasted delicious at this point, and I reheated the mixture which had cooled when the raspberries were added.

When the mixture was warm I poured it into a foil-lined pan and used a spatula to smooth the top. After a few hours in the fridge this was what the "fudge" looked like:

The soft mushy chocolate was definitely not real "fudge" but it was absolutely delicious! It was too rich to just scoop up with a spoon (well too rich for other people in my household- it was just perfect for me!).

I googled quickly and came up with a rescue for failed fudge!

Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Brownies/ or, Failed Fudge Brownie Recipe

2 cups failed fudge

1 egg

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix together the egg, flour and milk until well blended. Add the 2 cups failed fudge and mix together until you have what resembles brownie dough. Pour into a prepared 8x8 pan (spray with pam or baker's helper, or grease and flour) and bake for 40-45 minutes until a fork or toothpick comes out mostly clean.

Pretty easy, huh? The brownies turned out DELICIOUS and had a very fudgy consistency. Highly recommended!

Also:

Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Frosting for Cupcakes or Cake

Follow recipe for Chocolate Raspberry Failed Fudge. Cool to around room temperature. Spreads like a dream over cupcakes and tastes incredible!

Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Sauce for Ice Cream

Heat remaining Failed Fudge and drizzle over vanilla ice cream for a sweet treat!

I think a layered desert would also be good-- fruit, failed fudge, and whipped cream!

Dill Mushroom Dip

This delicious Dill Mushroom Dip was inspired by a recipe found in a very old cookbook I purchased at a thrift store. The first time I made the recipe it turned out very bland, so I've been experimenting with adding different spices and ingredients. I think I've found a winner! The combination of dill and nutmeg is surprising and pleasing. Nutmeg has always reminded me of the holiday season, and Mushroom Soup with heavy dill seasoning is a Christmas Eve must at my house. The combination makes this dip taste very seasonal to me- but I've enjoyed it tremendously this summer and now in September. I like to make it as a late afternoon snack or appetizer when I know dinner is going to be late (usually because someone has to work longer hours than expected). I don't want anyone passing out on me!
I think this dip would work fabulously at a party as well.

Dill-Mushroom Dip

10 oz white mushrooms, diced (one grocery store package)

2/3 cup heavy cream

3 tbsp flour

4 tbsp butter

ground nutmeg to taste

dill to taste, at least 2 tsp

salt and pepper to taste

1 baguette french bread

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees for toasting bread. Slice baguette and place slices on cookie sheet. Go ahead and stick in oven while it preheats if you like.

After dicing mushrooms (dicing=cutting them into teeny tiny little parts), melt the butter in a medium size pot. When the butter is almost all melted add the mushrooms, and stir while the remaining butter melts. The key here is to keep some amount of butter flowing through the mushrooms. If you've melted the butter too fast and it is disappearing- add some more! You aren't going to hurt anything by adding more butter (in terms of taste and food obviously- your health is your own matter!).

Let the mushrooms cook in the butter for five minutes-- depending on your stove you might cook them on low or medium . . . you want active cooking, and you want to see liquid being produced in the pot . . . but you don't want it to be boiling like crazy. After five minutes or so you will be surprised at how much liquid there is.

Let the mushrooms cook in the butter for five minutes-- depending on your stove you might cook them on low or medium . . . you want active cooking, and you want to see liquid being produced in the pot (see picture at right) . . . but you don't want crazy boiling. After five minutes or so you will be surprised at how much liquid there is!

Check your baguette slices! Are they nice and toasty? You want them to be firm and toasted, but not overcooked. As soon as they start to feel like they will crunch gently in your mouth-- take them out and set them aside.

Now its time to sprinkle and stir in the flour. Stir and keep cooking (although on a slightly lower setting) until the flour is fully incorporated into the creation.

Next add the cream, stirring all the while. The mixture will start to thicken, which is exactly what you want. Add your salt and pepper-- I'm not big on either so I just put in a dash of both-- if you LOVE pepper then you should put more in! I add at least a teaspoon of nutmeg and a tablespoon of dill. While mixing I make sure that there is enough dill so that you can see it spread uniformly throughout the mixture. I for one feel that you can never have enough dill!

This mixture is starting to look ready! Make sure to spread some on one of your toasted bread slices to taste test. If it need more spices-- add it! I usually add a little nutmeg and a lot of dill.




You are finished! Transfer your dip into a bowl and serve with a spoon and a plate or bowl of the toasted baguette slices.


Enjoy!

Welcome To My Kitchen!

I am finally in possession of a digital camera and I am excited to be able to share my culinary creations with the world! The basic ideas for my recipes come from cookbooks or family tradition, but all are personally tailored to my whims and desires.

My favorite foods are chocolate, raspberries, avocado, mushrooms, cheese and cream; expect to see a lot of these as ingredients!

Don't be surprised to discover recipes that feature garlic, ginger and dill (though not necessarily together :) - I can't get enough of these spices!

My summer garden has plenty of fresh herbs that I enjoy using in dishes- some survive into the fall, others do not. You can expect to find recipes for Lemon Verbena Creme, Lemon Balm Chicken Salad, Lavender Truffles and Chocolate Mint Brownies.

My mother's family has strong Polish and Slovak backgrounds, so anticipate family recipes for Pierogi, Pagatch, Mushroom Soup or Galumpki (Stuffed Cabbage) . . . especially around Christmas!

I look forward to your comments (especially if you try the recipes yourselves!).

Happy Eating!