CROUTONS

1 ½ tbsp olive oil

3     slices bread, each cut into 12 to 16 squares

SALAD AND DRESSING

1 clove    garlic, peeled

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp    freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp  Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

1     medium head romaine lettuce, about 12 oz, washed, dried, and cut into 1-to2-inch pieces

½ cup    grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Place olive oil in fry pan. Toss bread cubes with oil. Saute bread cubes over medium heat until browned.

2.  Make salad. Mash garlic clove with salt to a paste. Scrape paste into salad bowl. Add pepper. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice, and mix. Add olive oil and mix well. (Dressing can be made, covered, and refrigerated several hours before serving.)

3.  Placed lettuce on top of dressing in bowl. Scatter cheese over lettuce and top with croutons. Toss, making sure leaves are coated with dressing. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Hannaford’s magazine

¼ cup       fresh lime juice

2 tsp         honey

1 tsp         grated lime peel

1 cup         paper-thin slices red onion

2               6-ounce bags mixed lettuces

6               plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

Whisk first 4 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Transfer 2 tablespoons dressing to another small bowl; mix in onion. Let onion and remaining dressing stand at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours. Toss onion mixture occasionally.

Mix lettuces, tomatoes, and onion mixture in bowl. Toss with dressing.

Adapted from Bon Appetite February 2004

1 T.           fresh lemon juice

½ t.          salt

1 t.            honey

1/3 cup     olive oil

For Salad

1 pkg         mixed greens

2 cups       baby spinach

½ cup       chopped fresh dill

¼ cup       fresh flat-leaf parsley

¼ cup       sliced scallion

Make dressing:

Whisk together lemon juice, salt, and honey in a large salad bowl and add oil in a slow stream, whisking until blended.

Make salad:

Add salad ingredients to dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

Source unknown

¼ cup       packed brown sugar

1 ½ tbsp   walnut oil

½ tsp        salt

3 cups       chopped apple

½ cup       golden seedless raisins

1 16 oz      package cabbage and carrot coleslaw (or make your own)

Combine first 5 ingredients, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves.

Combine apple, raisins, and coleslaw. Drizzle with vinaigrette; toss well to combine. Chill for up to 3 hours. Yield: 8 servings (serving size:about 1 cup).

Adapted from Cooking Light  March 2005

4 C            cubed, cooked chicken

1 C            mayonnaise

1 1/2 C      dried cranberries

1 C            chopped celery

2               green onions, chopped

1/2 C         minced green pepper

1 C            chopped pecans

1 t             seasoning salt

ground black pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise with some lemon juice, honey, and canola oil. Blend in dried cranberries, celery, bell pepper, onion, and nuts. Add chopped chicken, and mix well. Season with black pepper to taste. Chill 1 hour.

Adapted from Allrecipes submitted by: Elaine

9 oz           bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup         (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup plus 6 tbsp  sugar

2               large eggs

1 cup         cake flour

1 tsp         baking powder

¼ tsp        salt

2 cups       coarsely chopped walnuts

½ cup       apricot preserves

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour 8x8x2-inch baking pan. Melt chocolate and butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, cool to lukewarm. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs in large bowl until well blended, about 1 minute. Whisk in melted chocolate mixture. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt over; fold to blend. Transfer batter to prepared baking pan. Sprinkle walnuts over and press gently into batter.

Bake brownies until edges are raised and cracked and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist batter attached, about 50 minutes. Melt apricot preserves in small skillet over medium heat. Strain preserves; brush melted jam over hot brownies. Cool 1 hour, then transfer to refrigerator and chill until cold, about 2 hours. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Cut into 16 brownies. Serve chilled.

Adapted from Bon Appetite  March 2009

¾ cup        raisins

1 tbsp         Cointreau

1 cup          walnuts, lightly toasted

2/3 cup       vanilla sugar

6 oz            bittersweet chocolate

8 tbsp         unsalted butter, softened

3                large eggs

Grated zest of 1 orange

¼ cup        fresh breadcrumbs

Chocolate glaze:

6 oz            bittersweet chocolate

8 tbsp         unsalted butter, softened

1.          Soak the raisins in the Cointreau for 30 minutes.

2.          Preheat the oven to 350 F.

3.          Lightly butter a 9-inch cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and lightly butter the paper.

4.          In a food processor combine the walnuts with 1 tbsp of sugar and process until ground small, but not to a paste.

5.          Melt the chocolate over a water bath set over medium-high heat. When melted, remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

6.          In a large bowl cream the butter with the remaining sugar until pale yellow and fluffy. One at a time, add the eggs, beating well after each addition. One at a time, add the ground walnuts, the melted chocolate, the orange zest, the bread crumbs, and the raisins with any Cointreau they haven’t absorbed, mixing well after each addition.

7.          Turn the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake on the center rack of the oven until the cake has puffed slighyl and has a slight crust on top, about 30 minutes. Test for doneness by pressing gently on the center of the cake – it won’t spring right back and a slight indentation will remain. Remove trhe cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

8.          While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. Melt the chocolate with the butter, stirring occasionally in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat when melted, and stir to blend well. Set aside to cool. Spread evenly over the top and sides of the cooled cake.

Makes 16 slim servings.

Adapted from Epicurious/Letter from France June 2001

How to make vanilla sugar.

1 – 2           vanilla beans

1                airtight jar

regular granulated sugar

Fill the jar halfway with sugar. Cut the beans into 1 to 1 ½ inch pieces and stick them into the sugar. Add sugar to cover the beans. Close the container and place it into a cool dark closet. The vanilla sugar will be ready for use after 3 weeks.

Adapted from German Corner Cooking Index

1 ½ C        sugar

¼ t           salt

1 t             baking powder

1 t             baking soda

1 t             cinnamon

4               eggs

1 ½ C        oil

2 C            carrots, grated

Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour pans. Sift together dry ingredients. Blend eggs and oil. Add dry ingredients and carrots. Bake 30 to 40 min.

Icing

1 8oz pkg  cream cheese

½ C          butter

1 t             vanilla

1 box         confectioner’s sugar

1 C            pecans

Cream together softened butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and confectioner’s sugar. Frost cake and sprinkle with chopped pecans.

Pat’s recipe

1 can (15-oz size) black beans, rinsed/drained

1 can (4-oz size) chopped ripe olives, drained

1     small onion, chopped

4 oz diced green chilies

1 clove    garlic, chopped

4 tbsp cilantro, chopped

2 tsp  chili powder

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp cumin

1 tsp  pepper

1 pkg (8-oz size) cream cheese, softened

2     green onions, diced

Salsa (fresh if possible)

Mix all ingredients except cream cheese, green onions, and salsa. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Spread cream cheese on round serving plate. Spoon bean mixture around edges, along with salsa. Sprinkle with green onions. Serve with tortilla chips.

Adapted from CDKitchen

2-3 tbsp     sugar

¼ tsp        almond extract

¼ tsp        five-spice powder

a variety of sliced fruit including banana and strawberries

Mix together the sugar and almond extract. Stir in the five-spice powder. Set aside.

Prepare fruit and arrange a layer on a plate. Sprinkle a bit of the sugar mixture over. Make another layer and sprinkle sugar over it. Cover and chill before serving.

(Note: the sugar mixture turns hard so it does not keep separately).

Adapted from Guide to Chinese Cuisine – Rhonda Parkinson