Prune Danish? with Orange Cream

I had to bring a dessert for the same aforementioned book club
so I made this simple prune danish type thing, but you could make
this with any dried fruit you like

I took a puff pastry out to thaw...and yes, I used a premade
frozen variety.

I put some prunes into a sauce pan with a sprinkling of sugar
and orange juice. I reduced it down to a spreadable fruit filling.
Then I filled half of the pastry, folded it over, sealed it, egg
washed it and baked it to a golden brown.

I topped it with a orange cream mixture which is so yummy that people
will be begging you to bring it to every event. Just don't tell
them how easy it is, and you will be the reigning champ for years
to come. I've made this in several flavors; chocolate, lime, lemon,
orange....and I'm sure you can come up with more. It is great on
pastries of all kinds , in between cake layers, as a fruit dip...
and just to eat plain.

Take some room temp cream cheese, nufschatel or marscapone and beat
until smooth. Add your flavoring(zest, nesquick, liquor) and a little
sugar and beat some more. Also, beat some heavy whipping cream
in a cold bowl till it is fluffy. Fold it all together. Yummy!!
You adjust the sugar accordingly-

Have fun at all your summer cookouts with the special cream and a danish
or two!

Luxurious Leek Soup

Sorry it has been so long since my last post, but you know
how it is...Life gets in the way-

Here is a great recipe that my sis used for book club last
weekend. She had to have a written out recipe....for a lot
of leeks. So as I was looking something up for her, I saw a
7 onion baked soup....of course I changed it around and this
is what we got! Yummy! Everyone raved!

We rinsed and sliced lots of leaks. Cooked them down in butter
until soft. Added flour to coat. Sprinkled with salt and a generous
amount of pepper. By this time the flour was starting to stick a
little to the bottom of my soup pot, so why not throw in some
chardonay? Reduced it down to almost nothing....then we added
generous amounts of thyme a huge bay leaf and chicken stock.
Brought it to a boil, reduced the heat and cooked it for about 30 min.
Then we added cream...till it looked wonderfully creamy. I think
I added a little more pepper, then hit it with my immersion blender
till smooth ( you could also do this in a processor).

We served it with crispy bacon crumbles, grated parmesan
and chopped chives.

Could have been served at a 5 star spa in Nevada!

Turkey and Artichoke Lasagna

Well, it was a rushed dinner here at the Wratten household. Mark had to go
into work early (yes, he's on the night shift again) and I was working till 5pm.
I had to rush out in the rain and pick up some old towels donated to the AWLFC
and get a few things for dinner. I had planned on having stuffed shells and a
good salad, but a trip that should have taken 45 min turned into 1 1/2 hours.
It seems no one remembered how to drive in the wet stuff...

So I changed my dinner idea into a lasagna and put lots of veggies in it. That
way I didn't have to make a salad....it turned out wonderful, and I felt healthy
at the end of it all.

I chopped an onion and a huge portabello mushroom, sauted it with garlic and
then browned my ground turkey when they were soft. I then added some chopped
red pepper and artichoke hearts (packed in water, drained). I added a lot of
dried basil, since I didn't have fresh on hand, some salt and pepper. Then I
sprinkled everything with a little flour. I cooked that till it got thick
and added some cream. Stired it up and wilted in my baby spinach and
added 1 can of italian diced tomatoes.

Meanwhile, I boiled my noodles to al dente.

In a seperate bowl I mixed together my ricotta cheese, parmesan, an egg and lots
of parsley.

Then I layered noodles, cheese mix, turkey sauce, shredded mozarella, noodles,
cheese mix, turkey sauce, mozarella. I finished with noodles on top. Sprinkled
with mozarella and parmesan, put a lid on it and baked it for 20 min.

It could have used another 10 minutes in the oven, taking the lid off to brown
the cheese, but as I said, Mark had to go. So we ate a rushed meal that had
most of my salad in it.

It was good and I will use this recipe again but perhaps tweak it a little.
Feel free to put your own spin on it, have a glass of wine and take the time
to enjoy it!

Thaish Chicken Salad

Well, I had a meeting last night right at dinner time, and many people traveled
from afar (including me) to attend, so I thought we could all use a little nosh-

I am calling this Thai-ish because I used Thai flavors, if some unconventional
ingredients.

I finely diced some roasted chicken breasts. I added finely diced red pepper,
petite matchstick radishes and cucumber, finely diced mango, thinly sliced
scallions and some alfalfa sprouts.

Here I could have added the dressing and served it in lettuce or cabbage cups
and it would have been delish! Instead I added some shredded baby spring greens,
dressed it with a thai dressing and stuffed it into mini pita pockets. It was
still delishious, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the light fare I provided.

Thai Dressing
A tiny bit of toasted sesame oil, olive oil, lime juice, lime zest, cilantro,
ginger, chinese five spice and a tiny bit of chili paste.

While I was making it and eating it later, I thought it would have been great with
salmon instead of chicken, and you could add cashews to make it even better!

Hope you all enjoy this spring dish as much as we did!

Rum Soaked Pork with Caramel Onions

Get a nice pork roast and trim any extra fat from it. Make a marinade with
rum, olive oil and a couple of prunes(squished). Add in herbs and spices such
as, sage, oregano, parsley, all spice, nutmeg, salt and black pepper. Let it sit
overnight in the frige.

Brown the roast off in a hot oven safe pan. Cover and put in a 375 oven for the roasting time you need. Meanwhile, thinly slice some onion and apple, let stand
in some cold water hit with a little lemon juice and rum. When the roast is done,
take out of the pan to rest; put the pan back on the stove and make your sauce
with the roast drippings. Brown the onion and apple slices in the pan(without
their soaking liquid). Since you are using the pan drippings, you will get nice
flavor, but if you think it needs anything, add it here.
Serve the sauce over your sliced pork.

As a side to this we had a basic scalloped potato and some steamed broccoli.
I tossed the broccoli with a little sesame ginger aioli and nutmeg.

Sesame Ginger Aioli
a little mayo, a drop of sesame oil and some olive oil, ginger, garlic, apple
cider vinegar, salt and pepper.

All Good Stuff!! Enjoy-

Mushroom and Spinach soup

This is a good bowl of comfort on a chilly spring night; packed full of vitamins and
nutrients straight from the garden. Eat it with a nice crusty bread for sopping
up the broth and you have one of the best things in life!

Take some shallots and carrot and brown them off in a soup pan in a little olive
oil. You can add a little butter here too, if you like. It brings a bit of
richness to the soup. Melt in some tomato paste and one or two anchovie filets.
Pour in some broth, any flavor you like and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat and add a bunch of small mixed mushrooms. Simmer.
Just before serving wilt in some baby spinach. Season with salt and pepper,
but be careful with the salt depending on what broth you use.

Wish I had some of this right now while I am typing....it's a little cool
here. This will surely warm up your insides!

Southwest Bacon Cheeseburger

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything. Sorry for the slackness.

Today's menu was very easy. Just combine your favorite southwest seasonings in
your ground meat (cumin, chili powder, garlic, smoked paprika, onion powder,
oregano, parsley and such). Mix well, form patties. Toast you buns with a slice
of chipotle cheddar. Top with onion slices, tomato slices, greens, and
roasted red pepper slices, maybe even some avacado slices.
Add ketchup, mustard or aoli.

Very easy, but very good. Mmm mmm mmm.