Red Potatoes in Garlic and Shallot Cream Sauce

Dice red potatoes evenly and place into an oiled pan or casserole dish. Salt and Pepper to taste, leaning heavy on salt.

Finely chop 5 cloves Garlic and 3 Med. Shallots and sautee in 4 Tbsp of butter until clarified. Salt and Pepper.

Add 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream and mix, pour over potatoes in pan. Continue to fill pan with Heavy Whipping Cream until cream rises to 1/2 full.

Cover with foil and bake at 450 for :45. Remove foil and stir, continuing to bake for :15 more. Potatoes should be soft and cut with fork. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Yummy!

Spicy Eggplant from PF Changs!

This one was really yummy. My sister had better success than we did, but it's a close second to the restaurant.
Add chix or seafood for added yummyness.

1 lb. eggplant peeled and cut into 1" cubes
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch mixed with H20 to form a paste....used to thicken sauce later.
Canola Oil for frying.

Spicy Sauce:

2 Tbsp. Vegetarian Oyster Sauce
2 Tbsp. Light Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. H20
1 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar
1 Tbsp. White Vinegar
1 tsp. Chili Paste (Sambal Oleck preferred)
1/2 tsp. Ground Bean Sauce (koon chun preferred)
1/2 tsp. Sesame Oil

Combine all ingredients for sauce.

Deepfry eggplant in oil and remove to drain. Drain remaining oil, leaving a bit to fry up garlic.

Add sauce and eggplant, with desired meat.
Serve with steamed rice.

Creme Brulee

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
6 large egg yolks, chilled
6 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 cups whipping cream, chilled
4 tablespoons dark brown sugar

(serves 6)

1. Heat oven to 275.
2. Butter six 1/2 cup ramekins and set them in a glass baking pan
3. Whisk yolks in med. bowl until slightly thickened.
4. Add white sugar and whisk until dissolved
5. Whisk in cream, then pour mixture into ramekins
6. Set baking on oven rack and pour warm water into pan to come halfway up the ramekins.
7. Bake uncovered until custards are just barely set, about 45 minutes.
8. Remove pan from oven, leaving ramekins in hot water; cool to room temperature.
9. Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours
10. Dry brown sugar out in oven (~20 min)
11. After custard has set, sprinkle brown sugar on top and broil 2-3 minutes.

Seafood Gumbo from Mark Smith

Gumbo, an African contribution to Louisiana cookery, is a spicy cross between a soup and a stew. There are many variations of ingredients, but all Gumbo's begin with dark roux, a combination of flour and fat, slowly browned. As old Creole cooks used to say, "don't rush the roux, or you'll ruin the Gumbo."

1/2 lb Okra, thinly sliced
1 lg onion, thinly sliced
1 lg bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp flour
2 bay leaves
3 cup water
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 lb shrimp
1/2 lb lump crab
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste

Spray lg. skillet and put over med heat. Add Okra, Onion, B.Pepper, Garlic, and Celery for 5 min until softened...set aside.

Roux: add oil to skillet, then flour...stir until well blended. 10 min will yield a rich brown, but not too brown or black.

Add water slowly in a thin stream, stirring to remove lumps, and bring to low heat. Add spices and tomatoes. Add the cooked veggies for 5 minutes, then add seafood until the shrimp is cooked.

Remove Bay leaves and season to taste.

Eileen's Crack Salsa

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans white corn, rinsed and drained
3-4 cans Rotel, slightly drained...spicy if you like it
1 diced red onion
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
Chopped Cilantro
4 avocados, diced

Let sit so the garlic and onion permeate. Maybe add lime juice?

MMMMmmmmmmm......

Crab Cakes

1 lb jumbo lump crab meat
4 Scallions, green part only, minced
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh herb, like Italian Parsley, Cilantro, or Basil
1.5 tsp. Old Bay
2 - 4 Tbsp. plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup Mayo
Salt and White Pepper
1 Large Egg
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp. Veg. Oil

Gently mix crabmeat, scallions, herb, Old Bay, 2 Tbsp. bread crumbs, and mayo in a bowl, but don't break up the crab clumps. Season with salt and pepper, and gently fold in 1 beaten egg with a spatula to bind the mixture together. Add more crumbs if necessary.

Divide the mixture into 4 portions, shaped into a fat, round cake about 3" wide and 1.5" thick. Cover with wax paper and refridgerate for at least 1 hr. to hold them together, but can be chilled up to a day in advance.

Lightly dredge cakes in flour. Add oil to a med-high skillet until hot, but not smoking. Pan-fry the cakes until browned and crisp on the edges....4-5 min. per side.

Serve With:

1 Jalepeno
3 peaches
Sugar
Green Apple.
Honey

Slowly heat diced and pealed apples with honey to cook the apples. Add the chopped and pealedpeaches and minced jalepeno to taste to make a spicy remoulade. Temper the mixture with sugar for flavor.

Nick's Chocolate Andes Mint Cake

Tip: Start frosting first then make cake. 

Andes Ganache

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

8 oz Andes chips

8 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place chocolate in heatproof bowl. Bring cream to boil in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour over chocolate. Add corn syrup and let stand three minutes. Whisk gently until smooth; stir in vanilla. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes, until mixture reaches spreadable consistency.

Chocolate Cake

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup natural cocoa powder (Hershey's)

2 teaspoons instant expresso or instant coffee

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to center and heat at 350 degrees. Generously grease two 8x11-inch cake pans with shortening and dust with flour.

2. Beat butter in bowl with electric mixer until smooth and shiny (30 sec.). Gradually sprinkle in sugar, beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3-5 minutes. Add 1 egg at a time, beating a full minute between each egg.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt cocoa, and instant expresso in medium bowl. Combine milk and vanilla in measuring cup. With mixer on lowest speed, add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to batter, followed by 1/3 of milk mixture. Repeat process twice more until batter is fully blended.

4. Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake cakes until they feel firm and toothpick comes out clean, 23-30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack. Invert and cool completely. 

5. Assemble cake when frosting is fully cooled and thick.