Savory Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Crostini

2 French baguette, cut into diagonal 1/2 inch slices
extra virgin olive oil
2 lg Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate bars
sea salt

Preheat broiler (High setting) and set the oven rack on the top level. Line two baking sheets with foil.

Arrange baguette slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Place under broiler until golden (watch carefully the burn easily). Turn each slice over and broil until reverse side is golden. Turn off broiler.

Turn each slice over again; drizzle with olive oil. Push chocolate piece into the center of each slice and return baking sheet to oven for 2 more minutes. Remove from oven and lightly sprinkle each chocolate piece with sea salt.

(based on recipe found on AllRecipes)

Sweet Pepper, Onion and Potato Soup

8 lg Bell Peppers (late season are red for me)

1 lg sweet onion (Vidalia or similar)

Olive oil

6-8 medium russet potatoes, peeled, diced and boiled until firm but cooked

1 can Low-fat/low-sodium chicken stock

2 cans Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup

2 cans water (reconstitute soup)

Chili powder

Sage

Thyme

Cut and clean seeds & stems from peppers, dice into ½” pieces.  Peel and dice onion into ½” pieces.  Heat a large skillet (high) and add liberal coating of olive oil when hot.  Immediately add onions and stir fry for 5 minutes.  Lower heat to medium high and add diced peppers.  Continue to cook for 20 minutes until onions are clear and peppers have softened.  Remove from heat.

In a stock pot on medium heat, add chicken stock, Cream of Chicken Soup, water and potatoes.

Put onions and peppers into a food processor or blender and puree until it has the consistency of ketchup.  Add to the stock pot.

Stir/whisk until well blended (it’s okay to break up some of the potato chunks).  Add Chili powder, Sage and Thyme (judiciously) to taste.

Heat to simmering and serve.

(I like it to have a bit of a peppery bite [read: chili powder], but not too spicy)

Mini-Quiche with Caramelized Onion Garnish

Caramelized Onion Topping

2 large sweet onions, sliced thinly.

Olive Oil

Heat a large saute pan on medium heat.  When hot, coat the bottom of the pan with Olive Oil.  Place onion slices on the bottom layering.  Keep cooking and stirring onions until softened transparent and caramelized to a light mahogany color.  Remove from heat.

Pastry Dough

2c flour

2T baking powder

1/4t cream of tartar

1/2c shortening

1/4t salt

2/3c milk

Whisk dry ingredients.  Cut in shortening with a pastry blender to texture of coarse breadcrumbs. Make a well and add milk, mixing lightly.  Turn out on floured surface and kneed lightly to blend. Form into balls and press into mini muffin tin cups.  Make sure the pastry walls are about ⅛” thick or the pastry cup will be too large.

Quiche Filling

¼ lb grated swiss

1 pkg frozen spinach

8 eggs

1c milk

½t nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  

Whisk eggs, adding milk and nutmeg.

Cut spinach into 1/2t sized chunks and put one in the bottom of each shell.  Add a small amount of grated swiss cheese.  Pour over approximately 1T egg mixture in each shell.  Bake 20-30 minutes until egg mixture is cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Repeat process of putting dough in cups, add filling ingredients and bake.  When done, place on serving tray and place a small curl of caramelized onion on top of each pastry shell.

recipe by Jay Mumper

Apple-Cheese Hors D'oeuvres

1c white sugar

4T lemon juice

1/2c water

1t butter

2c Granny Smith Apple strips (about 2 apples)

20 “Hint of Salt” Ritz crackers

8oz extra sharp cheddar cheese

4T lemon juice to 1c water to keep apple strips from browning.

Prepare apple strips

Using an apple peeler with the slicer/coring cutter removed, peel apple and discard peeling.  Make additional passes on the peeler removing strips of apple.  Place immediately in bowl with cold water and lemon juice to prevent browning.

Cooking apples

Heat a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Melt butter and coat skillet.  Blend sugar, lemon juice and water.  Cook stirring constantly until sugar begins to caramelize to a light brown color.  Drop in drained apple strips and continue stirring.  Once most of the apples are transparent with a few opaque pieces, remove the apples and sugar from the skillet into another heat resistant container or heavy bowl.  Allow to stand.  Apples will finish cooking as they stand.

Slice cheese

Slice cheese into ⅛” slices and then into 1” squares.

Assemble hor’s d’oeurves

Lay out crackers on a serving tray.  Place one slice of cheese on each.  With a fork get about 1/2T of apple slices (still warm) and place on top of the cheese.  Place a second slice of cheese on top.

Hot Mustard

½ c dry mustard

½ c cider vinegar

⅓ c sugar

½ t salt

1 egg

Whisk dry mustard and vinegar and set aside.

Whisk egg thoroughly.  Add sugar and salt, whisk until blended.  Add mustard and vinegar mixture and whisk until combined.  Put mixture in a saucepan on low heat and cook stirring constantly until thickened to a light pudding consistency.

Set aside and cool to room temperature.

Blend in equal volume of Miracle Whip dressing.  Refrigerate.

Serve cold.

Recipe from Sue Crawford Hewer, Pickford, MI.

Prosciutto and Apple Smoked Gruyere (Tourbillon Pâtisserie Jambon et Gruyère Fumé Pomme)

2 tubes crescent rolls (uncut crescent sheets if you can find them)
½ lb grated Apple Smoked Gruyere Cheese (see http://www.foodsubs.com/Chessoft.html)
¼ lb thinly sliced of Prosciutto

Preheat oven to 375°

Spread dough, sealing pre-cut seams

Add a thin layer of grated Apple Smoked Gruyere. Place slices of prosciutto. Roll the topped pastry starting with one long side, rolling evenly to the center and then the other side, so that the two sides meet at the center.

Cut slices of dough stuffed with 1/4 inch thick, with a sharp knife to form swirls. Place the swirls on a parchment covered or non-stick pan and bake 12-15 minutes. Serve warm or cold.

Adapted from French recipe by Jay Mumper - August 2013

Asian Pear Tart Tatin

All-purpose flour, for rolling
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce package), thawed
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
24 firm, ripe Asian pears (1 ½”-2” dia typ.), each peeled, quartered, cored

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll puff pastry sheets into an 9x13 rectangle. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a medium cast-iron or ovenproof nonstick skillet, combine sugar, vinegar, and 6 tablespoons water. Cook over medium heat, without stirring, until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in butter. Butter pyrex 9x13 glass dish. Cover bottom with parchment. Place pear wedges in skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until pears are crisp-tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Move pears to glass pan, placing larger pieces around perimeter - pears should form a uniform layer.

Drape chilled pastry over pears, tucking edge under. Place second sheet over the first, again tucking edges under. Bake until pastry is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Let tart cool in pan, 15 minutes. Run a knife around edge of skillet, and carefully invert tart onto a serving plate. Serve warm.