Leprechaun's Hat Centerpiece

Here we are now at the beginning of March and of course since Mr. Rosemary Lane is 100% Irish, St Paddy's Day is a big deal around here. This year March 17th falls on a Sunday so we are planning a big Irish blowout! In celebration I decided to be a wee bit more prepared this year by creating a centerpiece for the party. This was believe it or not, very easy to make.

All you need is...

 a clay pot and base
 a little crafting paint in green and black
 floral foam
 small silver picture frame
 hot glue gun
 and some silk flowers
and a wee bit of green spanish moss

 I was lucky because Michael's craft store has all their floral on sale this week at 40% off!

Paint the base with green paint and the body of the pot to the raised rim, that will be painted black.

Next take the floral foam, which I bought in a shape and size to fit the bottom of the clay pot, and hot glue it onto the pot.

The silk flowers were then cut and poked into the floral foam. I kept the arrangement simple but full.

Finally, in order to hide any of the foam, I went ahead and hot glued some green Spanish moss to the foam...and that was it! It was actually much easier than I originally thought and I love the way it looks!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!!



Shrimp and Penne in a Creamy Tomato Vodka Sauce

Last evening we had my sister Kim and my Aunt Ann up for a combined birthday celebration dinner. I know my aunt loves shrimp and it actually worked out perfect for me since I gave up meat for Lent. This recipe has been one of my favorites for 20 years now, and its never failed me.

Relatively simple, all you need for this scrumptious meal is...

3 cloves of garlic minced

3 T. olive oil for sauteing

2 28 oz cans of whole tomatoes

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup vodka

Large (31-40 count) shrimp peeled and deveined (It's OK to leave the tails on)

1/4 cup fresh basil coarsely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

About 20 -22 ounces of cooked pasta

Tomato paste is optional if you prefer a thicker sauce.

Saute the garlic in the olive oil over medium high heat for about 4 minutes, stirring to make sure the garlic doesn't burn. Add the tomatoes, whipping cream and cheese...blend and heat through, about 10 minutes. (If you want to thicken your sauce, add the paste in at this point) Add the vodka, shrimp and basil then season with salt and pepper, heat through, about 2 minutes. Toss with cooked pasta and serve 

This should yield enough to serve 8 healthy sized portions.

I paired this past dish with a light Pinot Grigio and after dinner I served a citrusy carrot cake with a white chocolate cream cheese frosting...needless to say the birthday girls were very happy!

Wishing you a wonderful start to the week.

Avocado Crab Bites

Happy new year to you all. I hope you had a wonderful send off to 2012 and are enjoying a super start to 2013. To begin the new year here at TheBigGiantFoodBasket, I am sharing with you my first recipe of 2013...Avocado Crab Bites. 

A little later this afternoon we will be heading to my aunt's house in Pennsylvania for a traditional pork and sauerkraut New Years Day dinner. My sister Kim and myself are in charge of bringing appetizers so I made these delicious little crab bites. The crab meat is mixed with cilantro and avocado along with a few other ingredients and then dropped into some mini fillo shells I purchased at the supermarket. They are garnished with a few tiny shrimp and voila...I have some impressive looking hors d'oeuvres to take with me.

This is so super easy to make...my favorite kind of recipe! Here is what you will need to make 30 bites...

1 1/2 avocado mashed

8 ounces of canned crab meat

chopped cilantro (use enough for your taste)

4-5 scallions, chopped

1-2 T. lime juice

1-2 T mayonnaise

salt to taste

2 packages of ATHENS brand mini fillo shells, 15/package

one can of tiny shrimp

Mix first seven ingredients together and then refrigerate for one hour. Once cold just fill each of the shells with about one teaspoon of the crab mixture, top with a few tiny shrimp and plate 'em up!

XO

 

Sharing this recipe at these super blog link parties...

Daily Dish Magazine

Martha Stewart's Rasberry and Hazelnut Jelly Roll

This jelly roll recipe is one of Martha Stewart's and it can be found in the August 2012 issue of her magazine, Martha Stewart Living. I did my best to recreate this fabulous looking dessert! ( Martha's is in the photograph below,) The kids and Chris said it's a home run! One of the keys to making this is in the rolling up of the cake and just as importantly the brand of fruit preserves you use!

What you will need...

1/2 cup plus1 T. of all purpose flour

1/2 c. skinned whole roasted hazelnuts. (I bought them whole, cracked and roasted them myself)

1/4 tsp. salt

3 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted but not hot

1/4 c. of confectioner's sugar

clean kitchen towel

For the Filling you will need...

1 c. plus 3 T of high quality raspberry preserves (I used St. Dalfour.)

1 c. of very cold whipping cream

2 T hazelnut liquor

What you will need to do...

For the cake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large jelly roll pan or baking sheet with cooking spray. Lay a piece of parchment paper over the pan to cover. Trim the edges and spray parchment with cooking spray...set aside.

Bring a pot of water to a simmer. In the meantime pulse the nuts, flour and salt in food processor or blender until nuts are finely chopped...about 1 minute. Pour 1/3 of the flour into a sifter.

Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a heat proof bowl and then place bowl over the pot of water and continue to stir until sugar is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Then using a mixer, whip egg mixture until it begins to lose some color and becomes fluffy. Sift the first third of the flour into the egg mixture and fold with rubber scraper. Then drizzle 1/3 of the butter into the mixture and blend. Repeat 2 more times and then spread batter onto the prepared jelly roll pain. Bake in the oven until golden brown...about 8 minutes.

Spread clean kitchen towel out on the counter and dust with confectioner's sugar. Remove cake from oven and flip it onto the clean towel, peel off the parchment paper and starting at one of the short endes, roll the cake up in the towel as tight as you can. Let the cake sit until completely cooled, about 1 1/2 hours.

For the Filling: Unroll the cake and spread the jam over the top of the cake leaving a one inch margin around the entire cake. Then whip the heavy cream with the liquor until medium peaks form. Spread whipped cream over top of the jam, again leaving the 1 inch margin around the perimeter of the cake. Starting from one of the short sides, roll the cake up at tight as possible and then lay it on a serving platter with the seem side down. refrigerate for 1 to 4 hours. Dust with confectioner's sugar using a sifter, slice and serve!

Enjoy!!!

Cheddar and Jalapeno Corn Bread

 This is a twist on the traditional corn bread recipe. It is a very moist corn bread packing just a little bit of heat!!!

 Ingredients

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 2/3 cups milk

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

8oz sharp Cheddar cheese shredded

4 oz can of Jalapeno peppers chopped

     Method

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Combine the eggs and milk. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with egg mixture. Add the shredded cheddar and chilies and blend by hand.               

Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares; serve warm. 

              

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Apple Sausage

I love butternut squash and this is a super easy way to serve it! The melding of all the different flavors of the fresh herbs and the sweet apple sausage is the perfect fall dish. And you will not believe the aroma from your oven as it roasts!

This can be served as a side dish or as a main dish accompanied by a fresh salad of greens topped with apples or pears, Gorgonzola, toasted pecans, a little bacon and a white balsamic or raspberry vinaigrette!

Ingredients:

1 medium size butternut squash, seeds removed and cut into bite size pieces

10 cloves of fresh garlic, sliced lengthwise

Sweet apple chicken sausage, sliced

fresh sage, chopped

fresh rosemary, chopped

EVOO

sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

Method:

Toss all ingredients together and mix well. Place in roasting pan and place in an oven heated to 350 degrees F.

 Roast for 30-40 minutes stirring every 10-15 minutes.

The "Evil" Treat

This chocolate-toffee-carmel bar is sooooo good that it's evil! This is one of my all time favorite guilty pleasures in life...trust me when I say that you will not be dissapointed!

Ingredients:

1 box butter recipe yellow cake mix

1/3 c. oil

2 eggs

1 (12-oz.) pkg semisweet chocolate chips

1 c. white chocolate chips

4-5 oz. heath chocolate toffee pieces

1/2 c. butter

32 caramels

1 (14-oz) can of sweetened condensed milk

Method:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 13x9 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the first 3 ingredients until well blended. Next add all the chips and toffee pieces and again blend well...the mixture will be thick! Press 1/2 of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.

In a saucepan, combine the caramels, sweetened condensed milk and the butter and cook over low heat. Stir frequently and keep an eye on the mixture because it can burn. Blend until it becomes smooth. Then when the partially baked crust is done, evenly pour the caramel mixture over the top.

 Then crumble the remaining cake mixture over the top of the caramel and place back in the oven and bake for another 25-30 minutes.

 Remove from oven and let cool for about 20 minutes. Take a knife and run it along the sides of the pan to loosen the bars. Cut and serve!!!

And enjoy this most evil of treats!!!

White Pie Topped with Arugula Salad

This is a wonderful combination of two of my absolute favorite things...white pizza pie and arugula! I made a simple white pie using frozen pizza dough (although you can make it yourself), three to four different cheeses, and a simple arugula salad. It is a new twist on an old classic!

Ingredients:

Frozen pizza dough, enough for one pie

2 T. olive oil

Shredded Italian cheese blend, as much as you want

Parmesan cheese if it's not in the Italian Blend

Several dollops of ricotta cheese

Fresh arugula

Cherry tomatoes quartered

Olive oil and vinegar to toss salad

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Method:

Roll dough out and place in pizza pan. Spread the olive oil over the top of the pie and top with the cheeses. Place in an oven set at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Prepare salad by tossing the arugula and tomatoes with the oil, vinegar and season with salt and pepper. When pizza is done cooking, cut a slice and top with salad!

Enjoy!!!!



Remembering September 11th, 2001

Jarring Peach Jam = Simple and Delicious

What could you want more on a cold winter morning but to open up a jar of delicious peach jam which was jarred in August? Peaches have been plentiful and cheap recently, the perfect storm for making peach jam. I like to give them as Christmas presents to teachers, bus drivers, friends and family members. This is basically the Ball recipe only I substitute the 3/4 c. water with 3/4 c. brandy and cut back on the amount of sugar. The alcohol cooks off leaving a wonderful flavor to the jam.

Ingredients:

6-7 medium peaches, peeled and chopped into tiny pieces

3 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 c. brandy

1 pkg. Ball pectin (Buy 2 boxes just in case you need to add a little more.)

1 T lemon

1 T butter

Method:

Prepare canning jars and lids in water bath. I just use a large pot and lay the jars down. (I also boil the scoop portion of my ladle) Add water and bring to a boil. Then I  turn the heat off and let them sit in the hot water until I am ready to jar.

Combine all ingredients and bring to slow boil. Place a plate in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Once your jam mixture comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Take the cold plate from the freezer and spoon a small amount of the jam mixture onto the plate and wait about 1 minute. The mixture should gel so that when you tip the plate, the jam barely moves. If it is still runny you will need to add in more pectin.

Remove one jar from hot water and place on a folded paper towel. Carefully pick up your ladle and begin to spoon the jam mixture into the jar. Fill until the jar is almost full leaving a 1/4 to an 1/8 inch gap from the top. Clean the threads of any drips. Remove a lid from the hot water and place on top. Screw on the ring and make sure it is tight. (Ring does not need to be boiled.) Wipe down the jar and let sit until you hear a "ping" and the circle on the top is sucked in, concave, this means you have a seal and you can store the jars on the shelf.

This recipe yields 6 half pint jars.