CandyBar Cake

1 - 10 oz bag pretzels
1- 15 oz bag Oreo cookies

1 cup melted butter

1/4 cup melted margarine

3 tubes Peanut Butter Cookie dough

52 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (or enough to make one layer)

2 boxes Brownie Mix, mix batter following package directions

1-2 tablespoons Brandy

Chocolate frosting

1. Crush the pretzels and Oreos in batches in a food processor.  (Do not crush the pretzels to dust.  Keep some small pieces to keep the crust crunchy.) 
2. Mix the melted butter with the crumbs. Press into lightly greased pan.
3. Make the cookie dough according to the package. Lightly press the cookie dough evenly on top of the pretzel/Oreo crust.
4. Unwrap 24 snack-size Reese’s Peanut Butter cups and cover the cookie dough with the candy.
5. Prepare your brownie mix and pour evenly over the Peanut Butter Cups.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
7. Cool for 10 minutes.
8. Poke holes in the brownie and drizzle brownies with brandy.
9. Warm frosting slightly and pour over top of cake.
10. Allow cake to set, and serve!

Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless 

2 tbs flour, for dusting chicken (whatever flour you have is fine)

2 tbs olive oil for searing (I prefer extra virgin OO)
1/4 dry white wine (you can substitute chicken broth)
1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tbs garlic, minced

2 tbs lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1 tbs drained capers
1 lemon, sliced thin
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

salt (I prefer kosher)

Pepper (fresh ground if available)

Place chicken breasts in a ziplock bag and pound with a smooth bottom.  Be carful when pounding, its great for getting out your daily stress, but chicken is delicate.  Pound each breast separately until thin (1/4 inch?) I got about 4 or 5 flattened breast pieces out of the the two breast halves. Season each pounded breast with salt, and pepper. Heat the oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge the cutlets in flour. Remove the excess flour and sear the chicken in the skillet until brown (about 2-3 minutes per side). Remove the cutlets onto a plate and cover with foil.

Deglaze the skillet with wine, add minced garlic and cook until most of the liquid evaporated about two minutes. Add the lemon juice, capers and chicken broth. Reduce the sauce until it thickens a little, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon slices and keep reducing another minute. Return the chicken cutlets to the pan, making sure that they are coated well with the lemon sauce. Arrange the slices of cooked lemon on top of the cutlets, garnish with parsley.  

Chicken Piccata is excellent served over angel hair pasta.  Prepare pasta and toss with a little olive oil, grated parmesan, parsley. Spoon Piccata sauce, from the pan, over chicken and pasta.

EASY Melt in your mouth Ribs!

1 - 2 racks Pork Ribs
1 Onion, sliced
Salt & Pepper
1 bottle BBQ Sauce, your favorite is fine (I prefer STUBBS)

*TIP - I always line my crock pot with one of the disposable liners... it saves the trouble of a messy clean up after dinner.

Slice onion.  Salt and pepper ribs. Place ribs in crock pot. I have to cut them in half to fit them in the pot.  I always put in two rack of ribs, and they go FAST! Pour sauce over the top of each slab of ribs and spread onions on top. With two racks of ribs I use the entire bottle of sauce, but if only one rack of ribs maybe half the bottle.
Cook on low 6-8 hours. The will FALL OFF THE BONE and MELT IN YOUR MOUTH!

Christmas Green Salad

1/2 cup raspberries

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt & Pepper

5 cups wild field greens

1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 cup dried cranberries

4 to 5 clementines separated into segments

1/2 cup spiced pecans or caramelized walnuts

1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

Dressing: combine raspberries, balsamic vinegar and olive oil in a blender. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Salad: In a large salad bowl, toss the greens, fennel, cranberries, and clementines . Just before serving, add the spiced nuts and cheese and toss with just enough of the vinaigrette to lightly coat the greens. Serve.

Velvety Mashed Potatoes

6lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup heavy cream
1 stick unsalted butter
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Kosher salt & pepper
*Ricer

Cover cut potatoes in a large pot with cold water and salt well. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. While potatoes drain, heat the cream, butter, & garlic in the same pot you cooked the potatoes. While the potatoes are still warm, press them through a potato ricer into the pot. Stir potatoes with cream and butter until velvety smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

*Ricer is an amazing tool that PERFECTLY mashes potatoes!

Man Cake!

Three layers of meatloaf with cheddar cheese filling, and brown sugar, ketchup, balsamic glaze. Frosted with mashed potatoes, and crumbled bacon pressed into the sides. What man wouldn't kill for this cake!

1 Cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 T balsamic vinegar
1 T olive oil
1 lg onion, chopped fine
1 lg bell pepper, chopped fine
3 lg eggs, beaten well
1 T hot sauce (I prefer Louisiana Hot Sauce)
2 lbs. ground sirloin
2 lbs. Italian turkey sausage (1 spicy and 1 sweet)
2 T garlic powder
3 cups plain bread crumbs
2 T dried thyme
2 T dried oregano
1/2 Cup fresh chopped parsley
3 T sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped fine
3 T capers
1 Can chopped tomatoes with onion, drained well
1 Cup cheddar cheese
4-5 Cups Creamy mashed potatoes (you may use instant if you wish)
1 Cup crumbled bacon (you can buy REAL crumbled bacon in the condiment aisle of your grocery store)



Preheat oven to 350.

In a small sauce pan simmer: ketchup, brown sugar, and balsamic vinegar. Stir well and allow to simmer while you assemble your meat loaves.

Cook onion and bell pepper in oil in a skillet until softened, and allow to cool. In a mixing bowl add: eggs, hot sauce, meat, bread crumbs, thyme, oregano, parsley, capers, tomatoes, and cooled cooked onion and pepper. Mix well. Cook a very small spoonful of the meat, in the same skillet you used for the onions, to check for taste. Adjust seasonings as needed.

Spray 3 identical round pie pans or round cake pans with non-stick spray and shake a small amount of bread crumbs around the pan to keep meatloaf from sticking. Evenly distribute the meat mixture between the three pans. I like to press down the middle of my meatloaf; when they cook the center seems to puff up, so pressing down the center allows the loaf to end up fairly even after cooking. Top each loaf with the glaze. Keep the extra glaze simmering on low, so you can glaze again later.

Place all the loaves in the oven. You may want to place foil or a cookie sheet under the pans to protect from dripping in your oven.

Cook meatloaves 1 hour - 1 hour 20 minutes (internal temp should be 160.) Allow loaves to cool to room temperature before removing from pan. Place a large plate over pan and carefully flip over meat loaf, carefully slide your first layer of meatloaf onto a cookie sheet. Spoon or brush first layer with glaze and top with half of the cheese. Carefully flip the second layer of waetloaf on to the large plate and use two large spatulas to transfer second layer on top of first layer. Again, spoon or brush glaze over all the outside of the two meat loaves, and top with the rest of the cheese. Carefully place the last meatloaf on top and glaze the entire cake with the last of the glaze. If you are preparing this 'cake' ahead you may wrap this tightly in foil and keep in the fridge until the next day. Otherwise, place the entire meat cake back into the oven for 20-30 minutes to seal the glaze and melt the cheese before frosting, or you may reheat the cake in the oven the next day at 350 for 45 minutes.

While meat cake is in the oven prepare your mashed potatoes. Be sure they are well mashed and extra creamy so they are easy to frost.

Prepare mashed potatoes.

Remove meat cake from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Begin frosting the cake with mashed potatoes. I start with the sides making sure I even out any holes or cracks with the potatoes. Spread the mashed potatoes twice as thick on top as on the sides, so that each slice gets a healthy serving of mashed potatoes. Once the cake is completely covered, you can go back and smooth and even out your frosting.

Finish by carefully pressing the crumbled bacon into the sides of the cake.

Return the entire cake back to the oven until you are ready to serve. ENJOY!

Sunday Pasta

Pasta Bolognese
Recipe courtesy Anne Burrell

Ingredients:
* 1 large onion or 2 small, cut into small dice
* 2 large carrots, cut into small dice
* 3 ribs celery, cut into small dice
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* Extra-virgin olive oil, for the pan
* Kosher salt
* 3 pounds ground meat, beef, turkey, or a combination of any of your favorite meats
* 2 cups tomato paste
* 3 cups hearty red wine
* Water
* 3 bay leaves
* 1 bunch thyme, tied in a bundle
* 1 pound spaghetti
* 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
* High quality extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing

Directions:
Chop onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. In a large pan over medium heat, coat pan with oil. Add the chopped veggies season generously with salt. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat and cook until all the water has evaporated and they become nice and brown, stirring frequently, about 15 to 20 minutes. Be patient, this is where the big flavors develop.

Add the ground meat and season again generously with salt. BROWN THE MEAT! Brown food tastes good. Don't rush this step. Cook another 15 to 20 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and cook until brown about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the red wine. Cook until the wine has reduced by half, another 4 to 5 minutes.

Add water to the pan until the water is about 1 inch above the meat. Toss in the bay leaves and the bundle of thyme and stir to combine everything. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. As the water evaporates you will gradually need to add more, about 2 to 3 cups at a time. Don't be shy about adding water during the cooking process, you can always cook it out. This is a game of reduce and add more water. This is where big rich flavors develop. If you try to add all the water in the beginning you will have boiled meat sauce rather than a rich, thick meaty sauce. Stir and TASTE frequently. Season with salt, if needed (you probably will). Simmer for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

Cook LOW and SLOW... Your house has never smelled so good!

During the last 30 minutes of cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat to cook the spaghetti. Pasta water should ALWAYS be well salted. Salty as the ocean! TASTE IT! If your pasta water is under seasoned it doesn't matter how good your sauce is, your complete dish will always taste under seasoned. When the water is at a rolling boil add the spaghetti and cook for 1 minute less than it calls for on the package. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

While the pasta is cooking remove 1/2 of the ragu from the pot and reserve.

Drain the pasta and add to the pot with the remaining ragu. Stir or toss the pasta to coat with the sauce. Add some of the reserved sauce, if needed, to make it about an even ratio between pasta and sauce. Add the reserved pasta cooking water and cook the pasta and sauce together over a medium heat until the water has reduced. Turn off the heat and give a big sprinkle of Parmigiano and a generous drizzle of the high quality finishing olive oil. Toss or stir vigorously. Divide the pasta and sauce into serving bowls or 1 big pasta bowl. Top with remaining grated Parmigiano. Serve immediately.