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.

Piroshki - A Russian/Kazakh Dish

This is my daughter's absolute favorite dish! So here she demonstrates how to make these delicious little pockets. They are a simple dough filled with ground meat and several different herbs. This is actually a Kazakh peasant food made with lots of love, and I have to say that Gracie is a natural at putting these little pockets together!!!

Ingredients:

For Meat Filling

1 lb of ground meat, any kind

2-3 cloves of garlic minced

1 medium onion, chopped

Fresh dill chopped, or 1 T dried

1 T dried marjoram

1 T dried mint

1 T dried Thyme

Salt and pepper

1 T butter for sauteing

For Dough

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 egg

Approximately1/2-3/4 cup milk

salt

2-3 more T. butter for sauteing

Method:
Melt butter in a frying pan and then add the garlic and onion, sauteing until onion is transparent, be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the ground meat and brown. Add the next 4 ingredients plus the salt and pepper. Let the meat mixture cool completely before assembling the piroshki.

Next, in a large bowl, add the flour, egg, milk and salt and mix together. You may need to add more flour to the dough to prevent it from becoming too sticky. You don't want the dough sticky or you will not be able to work with it properly.

Roll out the dough on a clean floured surface, again you may want to add more flour to prevent dough from sticking. Your dough should be about 1/4 of an inch thick. Then using a round cutter or a glass, press into the dough and pull out the circular shapes. Cover them with more flour and roll them out into and oblong shape.

Then add 2-3 tsp. of the meat mixture to the center of your dough.

Now using your finger with a little bit of water, trace the outer perimeter of the dough with the water. This is to ensure a good seal on the pocket.

Then carefully fold the dough in half, pulling one side over the meat, and press edges to seal. Place on a well floured surface and repeat the process until all the meat is used.

Melt butter in frying pan and add the doughy pockets to the pan.

Fry in pan until the dough becomes golden in color. Carefully remove and serve or keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.

These are great alone or served with a dollop of sour cream. The dough recipe here can also be used to make the Eastern European pirogi.

Enjoy!!!

Restaraunt Review

Calhoun's Restaurant
1004 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738-3102
(865) 436-4100

While on vacation in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, my family dined at a local restaurant by the name of Calhoun's. Calhoun's was a recommendation by one of the locals and how could we possibly go wrong with that?

The restaurant is a large establishment and upon first entering the atmosphere resembles that of an upscale diner, complete with booth seating. Our waitress was very pleasant and took our drink orders along with an order of fried green tomatoes. I was a little skeptical of the tomatoes but when they hit the table they were gone in a flash. They were served with the most amazing mustard sauce, delicious. When my drink came it was brought over by the bartender himself. He wanted to make sure the cucumber martini I ordered was to my liking…and wow was it!! I have to say that it was the best martini I had ever tasted.

My husband and I ordered the House Ale steak which is a 10 oz sirloin steak marinated in olive oil, mustard, garlic, Calhoun's own Cherokee Red Ale and topped with Worcestershire butter. When it was brought to the table our waitress waited until we cut into our meat to make sure the meat was cooked properly and again to our liking. Both of our steaks were grilled to perfection.  The meat melted in our mouths and the flavor was unbelievable. One of my side orders was Spinach Maria which is creamed spinach made with 5 different cheeses, again another triumph for Calhoun's.

As for the kids’ meals, Michael’s macaroni and cheese was devoured by the old king of mac and cheese and Grace had the kid’s meal of ribs which was a very generous portion.

We all left very pleased with our meals and very full. And the best part was that our bill came to a grand total of $86.53. That also included the kids’ drinks and my husband’s handcrafted brew of Cherokee Red Ale.

It was a very family friendly dining experience and I would strongly recommend Calhoun's if you are in Gatlinburg Tennessee. The service, price and food are all worthy of all 5 stars from me, and I am not very easily impressed!

My Rating ***** out of 5

Fresh Cucumber Martini

I tried this for the first time while on vacation last week and fell in love with the flavor of this martini. It is very light and refreshing and much to my surprise, I was able to find the Cucumber Lime vodka at my local liquor store!

Ingredients:

1/3 cucumber peeled and with seeds removed

3 T Sugar syrup*

2 shots of Rain's Organic Cucumber Lime Vodka

The Juice of one lime

2 basil leaves, chopped

3 - 4 mint leaves, chopped

Method:

In blender combine all ingredients. Pour liquid through strainer into cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and pour into martini glass. Garnish with cucumber slices and a little of the chopped mint and basil.

* Sugar syrup is simply granulated sugar mixed with a small amount of water and then heated through. This is so the sugar is already dissolved and in a liquid form.

XO