Bacon Bleu Cheeseburger Potato Skins

10 lb medium Russet potatoes
1 lb ground beef
1 lb bacon slices
1 c chopped onion
1 c chopped green pepper
1 c Chambourcin or other rich red wine
8 oz bleu cheese
8 oz gouda or other melting cheese

Wash and pierce the potatoes.  Place on a cooking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

While the potatoes bake,  saute onions and peppers in olive oil until soft deglaze with Merlot and cook until the wine is reduced.  Set aside mixture in a bowl and add ground beef to the pan.  Brown beef. When done, add onion & peppers to the mixture.  Set aside to cool.

Crumble bleu cheese into small pieces.  Dice Gouda into small pieces.

Bake or fry bacon until done.  Cool & crumble or chop into pieces.

When potatoes are cool, slice each into thirds lengthwise.  Set aside the middle third - it will not be used for this recipe.  Scoop out all but 1/4" of the potato center from each of the other thirds making a cavity for filling.

Place parchment paper on two baking sheets.  Brush surface with olive oil.  Place potato sections open side down on the paper.  Brush or spray the back sides with olive oil.  Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes until edges begin to brown.  Cool.

To assemble, place a tablespoon of ground meat in the potato cavity.  Sprinkle some of the bleu cheese and gouda pieces on top. Then add some of the bacon pieces.  Repeat for all of the potato skins.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-30 minutes until cheese melts and potatoes heated through.

Chicken, Cremini & Asparagus Alfredo Dip

Ingredients
1 c chopped onions
1 c chopped sweet green pepper
2 T + 2 T olive oil
1/2 t dry rosemary
1 t oregano
2 x 1 c Chamborcin or Merlot
1/2 lb Cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced into 1/8" slices

1/2 large chicken breast cut into 1/2" strips.

4 T unsalted butter
4 T flour
1/2 T dry rosemary
1/2 T oregano
1 1/2 c skim milk
1 c heavy cream
1 1/2 c grated Parmesan (plus more to coat the top of the casserole dish)

Preheat oven to 375.  Butter bottom and sides of a large casserole dish.

Place an oven-safe saute pan on high heat and add olive oil.  Add onions and peppers.  Saute until onions are clear.  Add rosemary and oregano and continue to stir.  Add Chamborcin to deglaze.  Simmer until liquid is evaporated.  Put mixture in a bowl and return saute pan to heat.  Add chicken strips browning on both sides.  Add second cup of Chamborcin, sprinkle with a bit more rosemary and oregano and put the pan in the oven to braise for 30 minutes.

Place a large sauce pan on medium heat. Add 4 T butter and 4 T flour.  Heat and mix to make a rue. Continue to heat until the rue is a pale tan color.  Add skim milk, cream, oregano and rosemary.  Stir with a whisk to blend well.  Continue to whisk and heat until bubbles form on the edges and sauce begins to thicken. Add Parmesan and whisk well heating and whisking until the sauce is creamy and thick.  Remove from heat.

Remove chicken from the oven and remove chicken pieces to a cutting board to cook. (Leave the oven on - we still need it!) Put saute pan back on the stove on high heat and add bowl of onion & pepper mixture.  Reduce liquid until gone again.  Push the vegetable mixture to the side and add the sliced mushrooms.  Suate until mushrooms lose their liquid. Continue to heat and reduce the liquid to a minimum.  Put the vegetable and mushroom mixture into a large bowl and set aside.

On the cutting board, shred all of the cooled chicken into small pieces.  Add this to the large bowl with the vegetables and mushrooms.  Add the Alfredo sauce as well and fold the mixture together.  Now place the mixture in the casserole dish, leveling with the back of a spoon.  Coat the top of the mixture liberally with Parmesan cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes at 375.

Hasselback Salami

 





Ingredients
1 lg salami

2 c orange marmalade
1 1/2 c Dijon mustard
4 T bourbon

3 T molasses
4 T ketchup

1 T ground Cayene pepper

Preheat oven to 350° F

Slice salami on a bias into 1/8" cuts leaving about 1/4" on the bottom (or set between two chopsticks and use them to stop each cut.)

In a sauce pan, mix remaining ingredients, whisking until well blended. Allow to come to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove sauce from heat and allow to cool.

Place salami in an oven-safe casserole dish. Pour sauce over top, slowly working in between each cut. Drizzle remainder over the whole salami coating all exposed surfaces.

Bake in oven for 45 minutes, basting every 10-15 minutes with pan juices/sauce.

Decant leftover sauce into a dish to serve along with assorted crackers & cheeses.

Based on recipe from http://www.busyinbrooklyn.com/drunken-hassleback-salami/

Cardamom-Ginger Crunch

Ingredients
2 c (1 lb) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
1 c sugar
3 c flour, sifted
11 t ground ginger
3½ t ground cardamom
2 t baking powder
2 t kosher salt
1½ c confectioners' sugar
3 T golden syrup or dark corn syrup

Heat oven to 375°. 

Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish

Instructions

Put 18 tbsp. butter and sugar in a large bowl; beat with a handheld mixer on medium until fluffy. Add flour, 3 tsp. ginger, 1 tsp. ground cardamom, baking powder, and 1 tsp. salt; mix until incorporated but still crumbly. Transfer mixture to reserved dish; press flat with your hands. Bake until shortbread is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool.

In a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining butter, ginger, cardamom, and salt and the confectioners' sugar and syrup. Bring to a boil and pour over shortbread; cool. Cut into 2" rectangles.

http://www.saveur.com

Baked Chicken Enchilada Dip

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 (8 ounce) jar mayonnaise

1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers

1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl.

2. Place mixture in a medium baking dish.

3. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or until edges are brown.

Roast chicken with vegetables

Roast chicken with vegetables

Serves 4 | Preparation: 20 min | Preparation: 1 h 15 | Easy |

2 tbsp fresh herbs (parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano) + for garnish
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tbsp olive oil
1 chicken, in its entirety,
1/3 lb new potatoes
2 red peppers, deseeded
pepper
salt

1. Mix the spices with the garlic and
olive oil and rub it into the chicken.
Bake for 30 min in a pre-heated
oven at 375° and baste the
chicken regularly with the juices.

2. Rinse the potatoes. Wash
peppers and cut them into quarters.
Remove the chicken from the oven.
Cut up into pieces.

3. Put the chicken pieces back into the
baking dish and add the vegetables. 
Season with salt and pepper and
bake 45 min at 350°. Finish with
fresh herbs and serve.

http://simplyyou.carrefour.eu/

Alevropita (two variations: with and without Spinach)

Ingredients
4 T extra-virgin olive oil
4 tsp. vodka
2 egg
2 c water
2 1/2 c white flour
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking powder
1 lb feta, crumbled
1/2 c chopped Spinach
4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided into small pieces and softened

Preheat oven to 500 degree F
You will need two 13x18 jelly roll pans (1" rim)

For the first variation, I put 1/2 lb feta and Spinach in a food processor and pulse until spinach and feta are combined into a fine gravel texture. Place mixture in the refrigerator until ready to use.

For the second variation, just use the 1/2 lb of crumbled feta alone.

1. To mix the batter, put the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking powder) in a large bowl and sift together. In a separate bowl, whisk wet ingredients (olive oil, vodka, eggs and water) until well blended. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until well blended.

2. Place both pans in the hot oven for 10 minutes. Remove and immediately brush on a liberal amount of olive oil on the bottom and sides. Put 1/2 of the batter in each pan and spread evenly with a silicone spatula (rubber might melt on the hot pan.) Distribute the spinach-feta mixture on one and just feta on the other. Distribute 1/2 of the butter onto the batter in each pan evenly as well.

3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pans after 10 minutes. Batter should be crispy, cheese should be bubbly and browned slightly.

Serve traditionally with sweet mint tea.