Buttermilk Syrup

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup Karo syrup
1 cup buttermilk*
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla

Combine and boil for 1 minute all ingredients EXCEPT vanilla.  After mixture has boiled, add vanilla.  Yield 3 cups.

*You can use powdered buttermilk, but do the amount to make 1 cup of buttermilk, not 1 cup of buttermilk powder (right, Melissa Een?).  Although when we added enough of the other ingredients to go along with 1 cup of buttermilk powder we had enough syrup to last for months.

Ski Country Pasta (aka Alpine Ski Pasta-my kids) this is an all time favorite recipe, often requested for birthday dinners

Ski Country Pasta

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Sliced almonds

1/2 pound sliced bacon

4 cups penne pasta

2 to 6 cloves garlic

1 pound fresh spinach

1 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

5 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar

4 cups Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup fresh chopped basil

Directions:

Toast almonds over medium heat for about 4 minutes

Set aside

Fry bacon until crisp and remove from pan and crumble

Cook pasta al dente in salted water

Discard all but 6 tablespoons of bacon fat from pan and add garlic and chopped spinach

Stir over medium heat until tender

Whisk mustard and vinegar together in large bowl and then mix in drained pasta, cheese, cooked spinach mixture, bacon and basil

Serve warm, topped with toasted almonds. Can add 3 cooked, cubed chicken breasts to make it a meal! Credit: Favorites cookbook

Creamy Tuscan Tortellini Soup I made this last night and it was delicious.

CREAMY TUSCAN TORTELLINI SOUP

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 15 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

Top of Form

INGREDIENTS

·          1 tablespoon olive oil

·          1/2 cup finely diced onion

·          1 cup diced carrots (about 3 medium carrots, peeled)

·          3 cloves garlic, finely minced

·          4 cups chicken broth (I use low-sodium)

·          28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

·          1 teaspoon dried basil

·          1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

·          1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

·          1 teaspoon salt (I use coarse, kosher salt)

·          1/8 teaspoon black pepper

·          10 ounces cheese tortellini (see note)

·          1 1/2 cups milk

·          3 tablespoons flour

·          1 to 2 cans (15-ounces each) Great Northern, cannellini, or other white beans, rinsed and drained

·          2 cups cooked, diced or shredded chicken

·          2-3 cups lightly packed, torn or coarsely chopped fresh spinach

·          Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1.      In a 6- or 8-quart pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onions and carrots. Cover the pot and cook/sweat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds.

2.      Add the broth, crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the tortellini. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the tortellini are mostly tender (they'll continue to cook for a few minutes in the next step).

3.      Whisk or blend the flour and milk together until smooth and add it to the soup, stirring constantly. Add the beans, chicken and spinach. Bring the soup to a low simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and all the ingredients are heated through and the tortellini are tender.

4.      Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top, if desired.

NOTES

Tortellini: Use the Kirkland brand refrigerated cheese tortellini from Costco. It comes in 22-24 ounce packages. This recipe calls for 10 ounces tortellini, but for a thicker, heartier soup, you can double the tortellini amount (same goes for the beans, as noted in the ingredient list).

Eggnog Panettone French Toast made by Karissa for Michael who said it was delicious

EGGNOG PANETTONE FRENCH TOAST Hilton Christmas Breakfast

Orange Cream

½ cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon powdered sugar Zest of 1 orange 1 tablespoon squeezed orange juice


French Toast

½ loaf of panettone (GOOD panettone) 1 ¼ cup milk ¼ cup granulated sugar ¼ cup packed light brown sugar ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon imitation rum extract ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 3 eggs


Directions

1. Make the orange cream. Whisk together orange cream ingredients to stiff peaks. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 2. Make the French toast. Whisk together the milk, sugar, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, rum extract, nutmeg, and eggs until smooth. 3. Prepare a large skillet by spreading a bit of butter across it.  4. Dip pieces of panettone (about 1 inch thick) in the French toast mixture and place on the pan. Cook each side of the bread until golden brown. 5. Serve! Place a dollop of orange cream on each piece of French toast and serve with maple syrup.

Chocolate Torte recipe is delicious has very little flour and I experimented with flour substitute and margarine and it was good.

Chocolate Torte(recipe from Linda Wightman)

¾ cup butter

6 tbl cocoa

1 cup sugar, divided

2/3 cup ground blanched almonds

2 tbl flour

3 eggs separated

2 tbl water

Instructions:

Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in ¾ cup sugar; blend until smooth.  Remove from heat; cool 5 minutes.  Blend in almonds, cocoa and flour. Beat in egg yolks one at a time.  Stir in water.  In medium bowl beat egg whites until foamy.  Gradually add remaining ¼ c sugar, beating until soft peaks form.  Gently fold chocolate mixture into egg whites, blending thoroughly.  Pour into greased and floured 9” layer pan.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes (cake will settle) remove from pan onto wire rack; cool completely.  Invert cake to serving plate

Glaze

3 tbl light corn syrup

3 tbl water

2 tbl butter

6 oz chocolate chips

Bring syrup, water and butter to boil. Remove from heat.  Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth.  Pour glaze on cake.  Spread on top and sides with spatula.

Apple, Pomegranate, Gorgonzola Spinach Salad (developed for Thanksgiving 2019 and is delicious)

Apple, Pomegranate, Gorgonzola Spinach Salad

Spinach 32 ounces
1 large Honey Crisp apples chopped small
1 pomegranate- arills
4 oz crumbled gorgonzola cheese
sugared walnuts or pecans
Lemon Olive Oil
Cranberry Pear vinegar

Mix spinach, apples, pomegranate arills, gorgonzola cheese.  Toss with 1/4 cup lemon olive oil and 1/4 cup cranberry pear vinegar. Sprinkle nuts on top and serve.

Honey Lime Fruit Salad ( I made this for 2019 Thanksgiving and loved it!)

HONEY LIME FRUIT SALAD

PREP TIME 20 MINUTES

 

TOTAL TIME 20 MINUTES

YIELD: 6 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS

•  1 (20-ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained well, or about 1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
•  1 (15-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained well
•  2 to 3 ripe kiwi fruit, peeled and chopped into bite-size pieces
•  1 cup green grapes, halved
•  1 cup strawberries, quartered
•  Zest from one lime, about 1/2 tablespoon
•  1 to 2 tablespoons honey
•  1/2 to 1 teaspoon poppy seeds (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine the fruit in a serving bowl. Add the lime zest and toss.
2. Drizzle the honey over the fruit and gently mix until the fruit is evenly coated. Sprinkle the poppy seeds on top and toss to combine.
3. Serve immediately or within an hour.

NOTES

This fruit salad is best served right away (or at least within an hour of making) because the strawberries tend to stain the light colored fruit. It doesn’t affect the taste at all but is a slight bummer for presentation.