Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

I have never made hollandaise sauce, and I liked this recipe. It was simple, but as you can see by the next photo it cannot be reheated!! I prepared the asparagus the way that Julia Child says the French do it. They peel the ends of the asparagus all the way up to where the tip starts. Be careful not too peel too deeply. She recommended using a paring knife and starting at the end. They boiled up nice and green, and I have found another vegetable that I can tolerate (at least with the sauce)!!

Hollandaise Sauce

1 stick of butter
3 egg yolks
1 T lemon juice
pinch cayenne pepper
dash salt

1. In a saucepan, heat butter until very hot but not browned.
2. While butter is heating, place egg yolks, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and salt into a blender.
3. Blend the contents of the blender until just blended.
4. Pour hot butter slowly into blender container while blender is running. Makes 3/4 cup.

Peanut Butter Crunch Candy

This recipe had such promise!! They were supposed to be like a Butterfinger -- NOT!! I will not be keeping this recipe, I would rather just go out and buy a Butterfinger or a 5th Avenue candy bar!!

I don't know what went wrong. The first attempt I happily left the sugar bubbling away for supposedly 16 minutes, but the next time I looked at it is was brown and stinky!! So, the second batch I stayed and watched while it approached "hard crack" stage. My thermometer said "hard crack" stage was 300ºF, the recipe said 310ºF. So, I let it get to 305ºF as a compromise. I followed the directions exactly and the consistency of the candy was powdery instead of like it should be. I found it difficult to cut because it crumbled. I was lucky to get even some to cover in chocolate that were shaped properly!! I didn't like the semi-sweet chocolate as the coating, should have used the milk chocolate instead. Perhaps it didn't cook up properly because I halved the recipe?

Peanut Butter Crunch Candy

1 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. water
1/3 c. light corn syrup
12 oz. semisweet chocolate morsels, melted

1. Butter an 8" square pan.
2. Heat peanut butter in top of a double boiler or on low heat in a medium saucepan, stirring constantly, until softened, set aside.
3. Combine sugar, water, and syrup in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes to wash the crystals from sides of pan. Uncover and cook, without stirring, to 310ºF (hard-crack stage), about 16 minutes.
4. Working quickly, pour syrup mixture immediately into peanut butter, stirring constantly, just until blended. Pour into prepared pan. Let cool 1 minute. Score (cut through but not to bottom of pan) into 1-inch squares. Cool completely.
5. Cut candy with a sharp knife along scored lines. Dip candy in melted chocolate, allowing excess chocolate to drip back into pan. Cool completely on wax paper. Place candy in decorative candy liners, if desired. Makes 1 pound.

Brandy Chicken

This was a nice recipe. I don't usually like wine in my cooking, but I used some apple brandy to flavor this dish and I liked the flavor. If I had to change anything, it would be to strain the liquid before I scraped the bottom of the pan, I didn't like the little pieces of onion in my gravy. I used light olive oil and too much butter (by accident), and ground marjoram. I also didn't add additional water when making the gravy because I think I added too much when the chicken was simmering. I also removed the chicken to the serving plate and covered with the lid of the skillet while I made the gravy.

Brandy Chicken

2 T butter
2 T vegetable oil
6 chicken breast halves, skinned
1 envelope (1 oz.) dry onion-mushroom soup mix
1 1/4 c. water
3/4 c. dried marjoram
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whipping cream
3 T brandy

1. Melt butter and oil in a large skillet on medium. Add chicken and brown slowly.
2. Combine soup mix, 1 1/4 cups water, and marjoram. Add to skillet. Cover and gently simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Remove chicken to heated serving platter and keep warm in oven.
4. Add 1/2 cup water to skillet and scrape up the brown bits. Mix flour, cream, and brandy. Blend into pan juices.
5. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Serve over chicken. Makes 6 servings.

Foil-Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes

This is a good recipe, but I would definitely use fresh herbs next time. The dried herbs, although I used less, were quite strong and didn't match the sweetness of the potatoes. I might use this recipe in a dutch oven over a campfire also.

Foil-Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes

2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, washed, unpeeled, and cut into 1- and 1/2-inch pieces
1 T olive oil
1 T minced fresh basil
2 t. minced fresh oregano
1 t. minced fresh thyme
1 t. paprika
1 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. lemon pepper
salt to taste (opitonal)

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Tear four sheets of aluminum foil large enough to form an envelope.
2. Divide all ingredients among the sheets of foil. Fold each sheet over to form envelopes. Place foil packets on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3. Place a packet on each plate. Carefully open each packet with a fork. Pour packet contents onto each plate. Discard foil. Serves 4.

Individual Beef Wellingtons

For New Year's Eve I decided to make some individual Beef Wellingtons. I don't prefer mushrooms, which is what most recipes called for, so I decided to try this recipe instead because it called for pate or cream cheese. I followed the recipe, making one with pate and one with an herb & garlic-flavored cream cheese.

I liked the taste of the cream cheese, but both the pate and the cream cheese versions had soggy bottoms!! Most of the other recipes called for the fillets to be seared on all sides and chilled before they were put into the pastry. I will do this next time, for sure. Also, the pate or mushrooms were all around the meat, some called for it to be spread onto the pastry, others called for you to spread around all sides of the meat. Some even called for bread crumbs to be added. I assume this will prevent the sogginess, but the searing could achieve this I suppose. Next time I might try the cream cheese, after searing the meat, and hope for a dry base.

Regarding the liver pate, it smelled just like wet dog food when I spread it on the meat. I was expecting not to like the flavor, and indeed I did prefer the flavor of the cream cheese version. However, it wasn't as bad as I expected!! I still have most of the little can (which was found in the canned fish section in the supermarket) and am going to see if I can find some other recipes to use it up. Or, perhaps I will give the rest to the neighbor's cat ...

2011 followup: I tried the cream cheese on both sides of the beef, as well as spreading it on the middle of the pastry. The bottom was still a bit soggy, but it seemed better than last year. The beef seemed to cook slower, though, and I ended up having to cook them longer. Don't know if the filets were thinner than last year or what. Even the pastry cooked up a bid different, not as shiny. I layered the leftovers and cut up some 2" squares and baked alongside the Beef Wellingtons as rolls.

2012 followup: I tried garlic- and herb-flavored soft rindless brie this year and was quite pleased. I seared the beef until the sides started to turn gray. I spread the cheese almost to the right and left edges of the puff pastry and folded over both sides. I trimmed off the ends a bit and folded up and over the base. Then I turned the packets over and placed the years on the top, using egg all over. I think I might go more light on the seasonings in this recipe, as it was a little too spicy for me. Success!! I saved the extra puff pastry to use later as little dinner rolls.

Individual Beef Wellington

2 sheets of frozen puff pastry
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/8 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. dried marjoram, crushed
2 beef tenderloin steaks (5-6 oz. each)
2 T liver pate or cream cheese or cheese spread of choice
1 egg white, beaten

1. Thaw puff pastry according to package directions, set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
3. In a small bowl stir together salt, pepper, garlic powder, and marjoram. Rub salt mixture over steaks, coating all sides.
4. Spread 1 Tablespoon liver pate, cream cheese, cheese spread of choice (or mushroom pate) over one side of each steak.
5. Place a steak, cream cheese side down, on the center of each pastry. Wrap pastry around the meat, trimming excess from ends. Seal with egg white.
6. Place seam side down in a greased, shallow baking pan. If desired, reroll trimmings to make cutouts. Brush with beaten egg white.
7. Bake uncovered for about 15 minutes or until pastry is golden and meat is medium rare.

Mousse au Chocolat

This recipe was pretty easy and tastes great. It is a simple mousse with just the right consistency. This recipe calls for uncooked eggs, which can contain salmonella. So, be aware of this and consider egg replacement options. I used Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup) for the mousse and grated some for the topping. I just used regular spray whipped cream for the topping.

Safety note: Studies have shown that there are possible health risks to using raw eggs. Instead, substitute a pasteurized egg product.

Mousse au Chocolat

4 oz. semisweet chocolate
4 T unsalted butter
4 large eggs, separated, room temperature
1/8 t. cream of tartar
1/2 c. heavy cream, whipped, for garnish
chocolate filigree for garnish

1. Heat chocolate and butter, stirring frequently, in top of double boiler over simmering water until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in egg yolks until blended. Immediately transfer to mixing bowl.
2. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in second mixing bowl until very stiff. Using wire whisk, fold half the egg whites into chocolate mixture. Beat remaining whites quickly to make sure they are smooth and fold into chocolate mixture with rubber spatula.
3. Transfer mousse to serving bowl or individual stemmed glasses. Refrigerate covered until set, about 3 hours. Serve cold, garnished with whipped cream and chocolate filigree. Serves 6.

George's Shortbread Cookies

This family recipe can be traced back to a family friend of my grandparents' named George Jones, she gave the recipe to my grandmother and we have been making them ever since. These shortbread cookies are quite versatile. My mother always colored half of the batter red and made little red & white worms to twist into candy cane cookies. People LOVE this recipe, the cookie melts in your mouth. I like them because they taste great, they store well, and you can make them into a log to cut into cookies. This is what I did this time around, it is nice an quick. This recipe made two long logs, but I could have made three smaller ones and gotten more cookies. Logs are great because you can roll them in the appropriate color sugar for the event. On Valentine's day you can use pink or red, Independence Day you can use red, white, and blue sprinkles, etc. I tried stirring in some mini chocolate chips the last time I baked these cookies and they turned out great. This is a large recipe, simply cut in half if you don't need so many cookies.

George's Shortbread Cookies

2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
4 c. flour
food coloring (optional)

1. Cream butter with sugar.
2. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, blending well. (If you are coloring the dough add the food coloring now)
3. Cover with plastic wrap (or make into logs) and refrigerate at least 10 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
5. Prepare cookies in desired manner (slice logs, make candy canes, etc.) and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.
6. Leave cookies on the pan for a little bit before transferring them to a wire rack. Be careful when removing from cookie sheet.
7. Store in airtight container.

Spritz Cookies

This recipe has been in my family since at least my grandmother, perhaps longer. We always do these at Christmas time, and I did my batch today. You will need a cookie gun for these, and some almond extract.

Spritz Cookies

1 c. butter, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
3 egg yolks
1 t. almond extract
dash salt
2 1/4 c. flour

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. Cream together butter and sugar until creamy.
3. Add egg yolks, almond extract, and salt. Blend well.
4. Add flour in three installments, incorporating between each addition.
5. Using a cookie press, make desired shapes and sprinkle with colored sugar. For our Christmas shapes we use the small star to pipe out candy canes and wreaths. I did poinsettias (with a red-hot in the middle), a Christmas ornament, and the old stand-by, the long strip, which is cut with the spatula when still on the pan for smaller sized cookies.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown edges. Leave cookies on the pan for a little bit before transferring them to a wire rack. Be careful when removing from the cookie sheet.
7. Store in airtight container.

Gourmet Potatoes

These potatoes were yummy. The only thing I would do differently is to add less salt and cook the potatoes a bit longer. I used medium cheddar cheese and Yukon Gold potatoes.

Gourmet Potatoes

6 medium potatoes
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded Longhorn cheese
1/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. (12 oz.) sour cream
1/2 c. chopped green onions
2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
2 T butter

1. Wash the potatoes. Boil or bake in skins until tender. Peel and shred coarsely or put through a ricer.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, combine cheese and 1/4 cup butter. Cook until the cheese is almost melted. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream, onions, salt, and pepper. Fold in the potatoes. Put in a greased 2-quart casserole. Dot the top with an additional 2 Tablespoons butter. Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes.

Lemon Chicken

This is another lemon chicken recipe, but it is not the Asian style type of dish. I used a boneless double breast for this recipe, and dried dill weed. I liked this recipe, the only thing I would do differently is to pound down the thickest portion of the breast so it would cook evenly. I had to put the breasts into the oven to get them cooked through.

Lemon Chicken

8 bone-in chicken breast halves, skinned
1/2 c. lemon juice
1 large egg
2/3 c. unsifted all-purpose flour
2/3 c. packaged unseasoned bread crumbs
1 T grated lemon rind
2 t. chopped fresh dill, or 1/4 t. dried dill weed
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
2 T butter
2 T olive oil

1. In 13" x 9" nonmetal baking dish, arrange chicken, flesh side down. Add lemon juice. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour to marinade.
2. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve marinade.
3. In a pie plate, beat egg with 1/4 cup of the reserved lemon juice marinade. In plastic food-storage bag, combine flour, bread crumbs, lemon rind, dill, salt, and pepper.
4. Dip each piece of chicken breast in egg mixture and then shake in the crumb mixture. In a large heavy skillet, heat half of the butter and half of the oil. Add chicken breasts and cook over medium heat until golden, about 8-10 minutes. Turn the chicken and add remaining butter and oil. Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 13-15 minutes longer. Serves 6.