Fabulous Friday Recipe #2

Catherine G's Cake Pops

Check out the video on the Cake Pops Amazon page for a cake pops demonstration.

Thanks to Catherine and Kate for sharing their skills at Fabulous Friday!

Fab Friday Recipe #1

Kate M’s Egg Rolls (makes about 20)

Egg Roll filing:

*1 pound ground turkey

*1 ounce of rice or mung bean thread noodles (they are dried, look like thin white strands and come in a plastic package of about 3 ounces. If you don’t want to use the noodles, substitute 2 cops of shredded green cabbage.)

*1 ½ Tablespoons minced garlic

* ½ tablespoon salt or 1 Tablespoon chicken bullion crystals (I prefer bullion)

* ¼ teaspoon black pepper

* ½ Tablespoon soy sauce

* ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro (or 1 Tablespoon dried, or to taste)

* 1 cup shredded carrots

* 1 cup shredded green cabbage

* 1 package Spring or Egg roll wrappers. These are not dried. They are fresh or frozen. I prefer fresh. They can be found in the produce section of the grocery store. Most come in a package of 20 wrappers. Egg roll are chewier than Spring Roll and fry better.

* Raw scrambled egg or water (water works as well as egg—hence, “egg roll”)

* Vegetable oil

* Sweet Chili Sauce

Follow the directions on the Egg Roll wrapper package. If frozen, they will need to thaw. Soak the noodles in a bowl of hot water or until soft. When soft, drain and cut into strips about 3 inches long (this isn’t a precise measurement). Add a little oil to a frying pan or wok. Put in all filing ingredients at once (except the egg roll wrappers). Use a spatula to constantly break up the turkey and combine all ingredients. Fry until meat is cooked, but don’t dry it out. (Most egg roll recipes don’t cook the mixture before rolling in wrappers. I prefer not handling so much raw meat and it also ensures the meat is cooked. If you mix it all together raw, you won’t have to cool it before wrapping.)

When meat mixture is cooked, it will need to cool until warm or room temperature. If too hot, it can melt the wrapper. I usually spread it on cookie sheets and put it in the fridge as I prepare the wrappers.

Heat the oil in a deep fryer or wok. You can use a frying pan, but this takes much more time and the oil doesn’t have to heat as long. Take the wrappers out of the package and keep a damp cloth or paper towel over them so they don’t dry out. Scramble an egg in a bowl or just use water. Peel off one of the wrappers and lay on a flat surface so one of the corners points towards and away from you. Put some of the meat mixture (about the size of a Lifesavers roll) on the wrapper, a little lower than the middle. Put the corner of the wrapper closest to you over the mixture and fold the other side corners over the mixture (like a burrito) and wrap. Try to wrap it tightly, but don’t tear the wrappers. You don’t want any holes on the sides. These will fill with oil when frying and the filling can come out. You want the entire thing sealed. When about 1 inch of the top corner is left, dip your fingers in the egg or water and wipe it on the corner. This will act like a paste. Continue rolling until entire egg roll is sealed.

Use tongs or a dipping spoon to put egg rolls into the oil. Fry until slightly golden brown and put on paper towels to soak the grease. The dipping sauce can be bought at an Asian store or the Asian aisle. It’s called sweet chili sauce and is the finishing touch for these babies!

Recipes From Super Saturday

Ohhhhh, yum! Here are the recipes from Noelle's fabulous demo at Super Saturday. Enjoy!

Chocolate and Fruit Tarts

A HUGE thank you to our wonderful Pastry Chef Heather F. who kindly shared her baking skills and talents with us at our tart cooking class. We had an amazing night with delicious tarts! Just look at what we made!

Pastry Cream

Filling yields enough to fill two tarts. You can divide the pastry cream and add chocolate chips if you want the best of both.

2 c. whole milk (reserve 1/4 cup for slurry)

7 egg yolks

1cup +1 Tbsp. sugar divided

1 tsp. vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean split and seeds removed

2 1/4 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 oz butter

1 c. heavy cream (whipped and unsweetened)

Combine 1 3/4 c milk and half of the sugar in a medium sauce pan. (If you are using the vanilla bean add to saucepan to bring out the flavor. If you are using vanilla extract add it after the cream is finished.) Bring to an almost boil. While milk is heating, combine egg yolks and half the sugar with whisk in separate bowl. Stir cornstarch with a whisk and make a slurry using 1/4 cup of milk. Stir the cornstarch slurry into egg yolk mixture. Once the milk is hot, temper it into the egg mixture, by pouring a half of a cup at a time into the egg mixture and whisking. Do this until the egg mixture is warm. Pour all liquid back into the pot. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture boils for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and butter and whisk till smooth. Pour immediately into a sieve/strainer (ensuring no curdled eggs) resting on top of metal bowl that is sitting in an ice bath. After pastry cream is chilled gently fold in the whipped cream until evenly blended. Chill until ready to use. Fill tart shells with pastry cream until pastry is level with sides of the tart.

Follow the step-by-step pictures for a quick tutorial and watch the video how to temper pastry cream.

Chocolate Pastry Cream

Follow recipe above. After pastry cream is finished and strained, add chocolate chips and place over ice bath.**If you are dividing the pastry cream in half reduce chocolate chips to 1/4 c.** If you are using a full recipe add 1/2 c. chocolate chips. Garnish with chantilly cream aka whipped cream.

Cream Cheese Pastry Cream

Follow the recipe above and omit the butter and replace with an 8 oz package of cream cheese at room temperature.

Chantilly Cream

1 pt of heavy whipping cream

1/4 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp of vanilla

Whip heavy cream in a bowl to soft peaks and add sugar and vanilla. Whip together until stiff peaks form.

Tips

• Combine eggs and sugar together at the last possible minute. Sugar can burn the eggs and actually cook it.
  
• To temper eggs use a ladle and pour milk mixture in a slow steady stream while whisking into the egg mixture. Ladle milk mixture into the eggs 2-3 times and until the eggs are no longer cool. Return milk mixture/saucepan to the burner and add the egg mixture and whisk constantly.


• Strain hot pastry cream through a sieve, fine colander or cheese cloth to ensure there are no curdled eggs aka scrambled eggs. They can be very small. If this occurs, and the curds are very small you can still salvage it by placing it in a blender and blend until smooth.


• Have your ice bath ready before you begin making pastry cream. Combine water and ice in a large bowl and place a smaller bowl on top. After pastry cream is finished pour into ice bath immediately to prevent the eggs from further cooking. Heather recommended metal bowls work best.
  
• Heather recommends saucepans without teflon
  
• Add fresh fruit on top of vanilla tart in a pattern or just random pattern. Pastry cream is not supposed to be shown on fruit tarts. Blueberries are excellent for covering holes.
  
• Whole Foods generic chocolate chips are recommended. Also, Trader Joe's 1 pound Belgian chocolate is EXCELLENT and costs the same as chocolate chips.


• Pastry cream is good for 5 days. If chilling the pastry cream, place a piece plastic wrap directly on top of it to prevent the pastry cream from forming a film/skin/crust. Be sure there aren't any air bubbles wither.
  
• Tarts are best eaten within 2-3 days.


• Pastry cream can be made the night before. Be sure to cover it as mentioned above.
  
• Fill tarts with pastry cream so it is level with tart edges.


• If you are interested in using vanilla beans Heather recommended the website http://www.saffron.com/.


• To split vanilla beans place on a cutting board and using a paring knife and split it down the middle. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and add to the milk & sugar mixuture in the saucepan. Toss in the remaining vanilla bean pod to get the most flavor possible and remove before adding eggs.
  
• If your milk mixture boils over a little simple add as much milk you think boiled over. If you lost too much...start over!
  

Tart Dough

Yields four large tarts.

1lb. butter

1 c. sugar

4 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Add flour and mix after each cup. Don't over mix, mix only till combined. Roll dough or chill until ready to use. After dough is shaped in tart pan dock the dough by pressing the end of a fork several times around the dough. This prevents bubbles during the baking process. Bake in tart shell for 20 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly golden brown. If using mini tartlet shells bake only 10 to 11 minutes.

Fill baked and cooled tart shell with chilled pastry cream. Top with desired topping. (e.g. fruit, whipped cream, or chocolate shavings. Serve.

Tips

• Heather prefers to use a large measuring cup and press down on the baked tart while hot in the pan to help reshape the tart.
  
• Roll dough out in between to sheets of parchment or wax paper to prevent adding more flour and toughening or drying out the dough.


• After shaping dough in tart plan Heather suggests placing the unbaked tart dough in the freezer for 10 min before placing in the oven. This helps keep the butter from melting too quickly. (Butter melts while you shape it.
  
  
  
  Don't worry if the dough breaks as you peel back the parchment paper. Simply, patch it with excess dough from the sides.
  

Next Cooking Class

You don't want to miss our next class! In August, we are making pies and tarts. We hope to see you there.

Recipes from Enrichment

Last night, the Shirlington Relief Society held a quarterly meeting "Is your Lamp Full?". It was an incredible night with discussions on medical emergencies, food storage and spiritual readiness. The refreshments were creative ideas used from food storage. When attendees discovered what the ingredients were after eating them they couldn't believe it and many jaws dropped. We had a ton of leftovers and ladies loaded up plates and headed home. Yes, it was THAT good. As promised, here are the recipes.

Brownies
I made a test batch of these to see if they were worth saving. I ate half the pan! There was no guilt either since there is NO oil or eggs. Enjoy eating the batter. :)

1/2 c water
1/2 c canned black beans (with liquid)
1 brownie mix
1/2 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a blender puree black beans with water. In a separate bowl, combine brownie mix and bean puree and stir until smooth. Add chocolate chips. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake 40 minutes or longer. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Three ingredients is all you need for these cookies. SO good and much healthier than the alternative recipe. These were also a big hit! I made sure I brought some home.

1 spice cake mix
1 large can of pumpkin puree
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine cake mix and pumpkin puree and stir until smooth. Add chocolate chips. Using a cookie spoon drop balls of dough on greased cookie sheet. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until done.

Breadsticks
These are foolproof breadsticks and quick to make. Your guests won't believe you made these!

1 1/2 c warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
3 to 4 c. all purpose flour

3/4 cube of butter divided
parmesan cheese
garlic salt
Italian Seasoning (optional)
poppy seeds (0ptional)

In a bowl, combine water and yeast until foamy. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt and stir. Add flour mixture to yeast and mix. Additional flour may be needed. Dough should be slightly sticky/tacky. Let dough rest 10 minutes.

Divide butter in half. Melt butter and pour onto a rimmed cookie sheet and let cool while dough rests. Spread dough out on the cookie sheet and roll out to the corners until even. Use remaining melted butter and spread on top. Sprinkle garlic salt and parmesan cheese and any additional seasonings you desire. Using a pizza cutter and slice into desired shape of breadsticks. Let dough rest for another 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

*Editors note: The original recipe says to roll out dough on a floured surface, cut into strips, twist and place on greased cookie sheet. I cheat and use the above shortcut.

M&M's in food storage? Yes, everyone needs a bit of chocolate! The shelf life for plain M&M's is and for peanut M&M's is one year. Store in a cool dry place.

Cooking With Food Storage

Cooking with Food Storage

We had a great, no, AMAZING night learning different ideas of utilizing food storage. Luke N., Suzanne M., and Valeria S. all shared their expertize with us. Having food storage in case of emergencies is strongly encouraged by church and government leaders. In addition, it has helped several families during difficult financial times to have food on the table.

Food Storage Recipes

Suzanne demonstrated how to use hard wheat in meals and had wonderful recipes. These were wonderful recipes and I couldn't make up my mind what was my favorite.

Black Bean Cake
This is a DELICIOUS cake and I really, really had to refrain from grabbing the pan and running out the door. You cannot taste the black beans and I feel that it should be renamed to Banana Cake. This was a big hit!

1 Can of Black Beans
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2/3 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 banana (frozen or ripe)
2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. powdered milk (reconsituted) or prepared milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and oil a 9x13 pan. Puree beans (in liquid) with 1/4 c. of water. (If liquid was removed add 1/2 c water.) Set aside. In a separate bowl cream butter, sugar and add eggs, vanilla and banana. Add beans to mixture and beat until smooth and scrape down the bowl. Combine dry ingredients alternating with milk. Pour and spread into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Cracked Wheat Pancakes

These pancakes are delicious and filling! A big favorite in our family.

1 c. uncooked whole wheat
1/3 c powdered milk plus 1 cup of water
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp. honey

Pulse wheat in a blender until coarsely cracked. Add milk and pulse 3-4 minutes until smooth(or less time for crunchier texture). Add remaining ingredients and blend on low until combined. Cook on a greased griddle. Waffle variation: Add 1 Tbsp of wheat and increase oil to 4 Tbsp.

Sweet Rice
Makes 3 cups
1 c. rice
4 c. water
6 Tbsp. powdered milk
1/2 c.sugar
1/8 tsp. salt

Combine rice and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, and cook until it thickens stirring constantly. Rice will continue to thicken as it cools. Top with dried fruit, nuts, apple butter, etc.

Tabouleh

1 1/2 c. water
3/4 c. whole wheat
1 c. chopped tomatoes
1 c. chopped parsley
1/2 c. chopped scallions
1-2 tsp. fresh dill
1/4 c lemon juice
2 Tbsp. oil
1/2 c olives (optional)
1/2 c raisin (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Pulse wheat on high in a blender until cracked. In a large pan bring water to boil. Add wheat and cover and steam 20-30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and chill at least 2 hours before serving.

Creamy Cracked Wheat Cereal (no picure available)
Makes 3 cups

1 c. cracked wheat (pulse in blender to crack)
3 c water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. powdered milk
2-3 Tbsp. sugar

Add dry milk to water, whisk and bring to a boil at medium high heat. Add wheat, sugar and salt. Cover and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes, occasionally until water is absorbed. Serve.

Tips:

• Wheat can be rehydrated boiling with water and salt. Once rehydrated it will last one week in the refrigerator and added to meals for more fiber.


• To make wheat flour you don't need a wheat grinder to grind wheat. Simply place hard wheat into a blender instead.


• Bulgur aka wheat can be popped and only double in size. Simply place in a large pan over the stove and add oil and cover with a lid and shake. Season with salt.
  
• Wheat can be added to meat dishes to help stretch meat portions. (i.e. meatloaf, meatballs, sloppy joe's, taco's.


• Garnish a salad with whole wheat.


• Add to soups like chili or a curry dish.


• More recipes can be found at providentliving.org and blessfamily.com.

***For more ideas to cook with food storage visit http://www.blessfamily.com/. It is the BEST compilation of recipes to utilize your food storage for things you will eat today and in a disaster. In addition, providentliving.org has some great recipes too.

Cooking with Steamers and Food Storage Ideas

Luke brought his steamer and demonstrated how we could use it cooking food without cooking in our home. In Asian countries steamers are used in place of ovens and provide moist and tender foods including baked goods.

You can find steamers in Asian markets or any camping store and the base will run about $15 to $20 and the steaming trays are about $20. Butane gas to reheat in emergency situations is about $1 per butane. (Note, do not use inside your home during a catastrophic disaster. Just cook outside to prevent an explosion with a gas line in your home.)

Muffin mixes ready to be cooked are stacked on the base which boils water and steams the muffins. They were so light and fluffy!

What the finished product looks like. Blueberry muffins on the left and Strawberry Cheesecake on the right. The poppyseed were a hit too and are not pictured here.

Luke brought in items from his pantry which can be prepared quickly. In the left hand corner, those are prepackaged Indian dinners which he also highly recommended.

Tips:

• Buy food you eat.


• Foods that work well in the steamer are canned vegetables, soups etc and mixes that only need water. i.e. muffin mixes, angel food cake, mashed potatoes, pasta, funnel cake.


• Dress up angel food cake by adding a pudding snack on top or canned pie filling.


• Great proteins for food storage are Bumble marinated chicken breast or tuna. Salami is also excellent and will last for years. After slicing be sure to hang the salami in a cool, dry place away from the sun and it will last for years.


• Rotate your food storage using the first in and first out method. Simply place the new products in the back of your pantry and older products to the front.
  
• For extra storage space Luke suggested a small bureau from IKEA.


• Buy food on sale in advance and be sure to eat it or you tend to lose money.


• Buying food in smaller packaging and cans will help prevent wasting food and attracting weevils to bulk items (i.e. oatmeal).
  
• If purchasing bulk items repack them into smaller plastic bags.


• For a variety in food storage Luke shops at A1 Indian Store for pre-packaged Indian dinners and H Mart for a variety of Asian dishes.


• Hard cheese will last for years as well
  
  

Sprouting

Valeria shared the benefits of sprouting seeds. She said sprouting seeds will increase the food value 400 to 600%. She brought samples of red lentils, peas and wheat sprouted. The red lentils were a BIG hit. She said she had great success with a product called Easy Sprout and recommended their website http://www.sproutamo.com/.

Tips:

• Buy organic seeds only and soak overnight in warm water. Rinse well in warm water as hot water will kill the sprouts.
  
• Store in the refrigerator for maximum freshness.


• The older the sprouts are the longer they will get.


• Sprouts add great flavor to a sandwich and salads or just eaten plain.
  
• If adding to soup add just before serving as a garnish. Cooking the sprouts will make them lose their food value.

Next Cooking Class

Our next cooking class we will learn how to create delicious meals utilizing food storage. This class will be held on June 11th at 7 p.m. in the Junior Banquet Room. See you there!

Thai Cooking Class

Thank you to Jen F. for sharing your wonderful recipes and teaching us how to make amazing Thai food. She made the dishes simple and easy to make. Everything was so good I don't think I could possibly choose a favorite dish. To those who were unable to attend these dishes are well balanced in flavor and are not spicy.

Pad See Ew
(Serves 4)

Ingredients
14 oz. fresh wide rice noodles cut in 2" strips(dried noodles can be used as well, but will need to soak for 10-15 mins.)
1 lb. chicken or pork (thinly sliced)
6 cloves of garlic – minced
3 C. Chinese Broccoli or Kale
6 T. vegetable oil (or palm)
4 eggs beaten
3T sweet soy

Sauce – mix and set aside.
3 T oyster sauce
1 t. sweet soy
2 T light soy sauce
2 t. sugar
1 t. pepper

Method
Marinate rice noodles in 2 Tbsp of sweet soy sauce for 5 minutes. Pour 4 T of the oil into a wok and heat on medium/high flame. When the oil is hot add minced garlic and meat; stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the noodles and stir fry for 1-2 minutes, chopping up (fresh) noodles as you fry. If using dry noodles that have been soaked, cook longer until noodles are soft. Add Chinese broccoli and sauce; stir fry to combine well.

Push stir fried mixture off to one side of the wok, add remaining oil (heat for 15 secs). Add beaten egg and fry for 1 minute, then combine and stir fry with noodle mixture. Remove from heat. Add salt to taste.

Panang Curry with Chicken
(Serves 4)

Ingredients
1 lb. Chicken
3 T. Panang Curry paste
2 T. Palm sugar (or brown sugar)
4-6 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1 C Sweet Basil leaves, sliced thinly
1 Can of Coconut cream
1 C. Coconut milk
½ t. Fish sauce

Method
In a wok, mix together panang curry paste and sugar over medium heat. Add chicken and toss with curry until well coated. Add coconut cream and simmer until chicken is cooked and tender (about 10 minutes). Toss in kaffir lime leaves, basil and fish sauce. Cook, stirring well, for about 2 minutes. Serve over basmati rice.

Spring Rolls
(makes 10-15 spring rolls)

Ingredients
1 package of frozen spring roll pastry
1 C glass noodles or rice stik (soaked in water for at least 5 minutes)
1 C minced chicken (veg: diced tofu)
1 C shredded carrots
1 C shredded Napa cabbage
1 C bean sprouts
4 green onions (chopped into 1 inch pieces)
1 T garlic
½ T sugar
2 T fish sauce (veg: soy sauce)
2 T oyster sauce (veg: mushroom sauce)
1 egg (beaten)
Oil

Method
Heat the oil in the wok, fry garlic until golden. Add meat (or tofu) and fry until almost cooked. Add fish sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Add the glass noodles, bean sprouts, and onion and stir fry for 1 minute. Add remaining vegetables. Stir fry until well blended, then remove from heat, and set aside to cool.

Fill each spring roll wrap with 2 tablespoons of vegetable mixture. Roll and seal with egg wash. Fry in oil until golden brown. See spring roll demo below.



Sweet Chili Sauce

Ingredients
¼ C water
6 T sugar
½ T chopped red chili
½ t. salt
¼ C vinegar
1 t. minced garlic

Method
Simmer vinegar, sugar, salt, chilis and water over medium heat. Add garlic and simmer until the sauce is thick. Remove from the heat and top with red chilis.

Although we didn't make this dish, Jen was generous to share the recipe with us.

Pad Thai
(serves 2)

Ingredients
10 oz. fresh rice noodles (or dried noodles, soaked in water for 10-15 minutes)
3 T oil
1 T garlic (minced)
1 T dried shrimp (optional)
1 C extra firm tofu – chopped into small pieces
6 T chicken stock (or water)
2 eggs (beaten)
3 T roasted peanuts- chopped
¼ C chives or green onions (chopped into 1 inch pieces)
1 C bean sprouts
2 limes (cut into wedges)

Sauce
3 T sugar
1 T fish sauce
1 T soy sauce
2 T tamarind juice

Method
Heat oil in wok over high heat and fry garlic and tofu until garlic turns golden brown and then add the rice noodles and stir-fry. Add the chicken stock and stir-fry until noodles are soft. Then turn the heat down and add the sauce ingredients and stir well to combine.

Move noodles to one side of the wok; add the eggs and stir-fry until the eggs are cooked and then mix well with noodles. Add the peanuts and chives. Stir-fry to combine and then add the bean sprouts and stir together. Turn off the heat and serve garnished with lime wedges.

TIPS

• Slice chicken in thin slices as seen in demo below.
  
• Prep all ingredients including slicing before cooking dishes above to achieve the proper textures and prevent overcooking. The process goes by to quickly to stop and chop, etc.
• To tone down spicy curry in Panang Curry just add brown sugar to taste.
• To reduce amount of Panang curry dish for a smaller crowd omit the coconut milk. (Not cream of coconut.)
• Sweet Chili Sauce can be found bottled in stores listed below.
  
• Jen said Thai Shirlington was her favorite Thai restaurant.

Looking for the ingredients used in recipes above? Jen suggested the following stores.
Asian/Thai Grocery Stores:

Bangkok 54 (Restaurant and Market side by side)
2919 Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA 22204
703-521-4070

H Mart
8103 Lee Hwy
Falls Church, VA 22042
703-573-6300

Cinnamon Rolls

(Picture from the Lion House Recipe)

Last year, Noelle S. taught a wonderful class on cinnamon rolls. The recipe originates from the Lion House in Salt Lake City. In addition, recipes for honey butter and frosting are included. Enjoy!

Lion House Dinner Rolls
Ingredients:2 c. warm water (110-115 degrees)
2/3 c. nonfat dry milk (instant or non instant)
2 tb. dry yeast (2 packets)
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. shortening (butter or margarine at room temp)
1 egg
5-5 1/2 c. flour (bread flour)

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the water and the milk powder and stir so the milk dissolves. Add the yeast to this mixture then the sugar, salt, shortening, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Mix on low speed of the mixer until ingredients are wet then turn to medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add 2 more cups of flour then mix on low speed until ingredients are wet then turn mixer on medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. The dough will be getting stiff and you may need to remove the bowl from the mixer and mix in the remaining flour by hand. Add approximately 1/2 cup of flour and mix in well. If the dough is sticky add another 1/2 cup of flour and mix again. (This can be done by hand or mixer) The dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO USE THE ENTIRE AMOUNT OF FLOUR.

Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl and pour approximately 1 tbsp of vegetable oil all around the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough over in the bowl so it is covered by the oil. (This helps prevent the dough from drying out). Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size. Sprinkle cutting board or counter with flour and put dough on the flour. It is now ready to cut or shape into desired rolls. Place on greased baking pan. Let rise in a warm place until the rolls are double in size (approximately 1-1/2 hours. Bake in a 375* oven for 15-18 minutes or until they are browned to your satisfaction. Yields about 1-1 1/2 dozen rolls.
Dough can be frozen for a max of 5 weeks.

CINNAMON ROLLS
Ingredients:
1 recipe of Lion House roll dough (below)
soft butter
1/4 cup sugar
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

Prepare one recipe of the Lion House roll dough and allow rising until double. Sprinkle flour on work area, place dough on flour and roll out to 12"x8" rectangle. Spread with soft butter. Sprinkle with mixture of ¼ cup sugar and 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon (depending on your taste), and roll up like a jelly roll. Slice into one-inch slices and place on a well-greased pan with space between so they can rise. Allow to rise until double in size and bake in a 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow cooling. Combine 3 cups of powdered sugar, 2 teaspoons Vanilla and 1/3 cup half and half, cream, evaporated, or regular milk. Mix until smooth. Gently spread frosting on the rolls with your hand or drizzle on with a spoon. Allow to cool slightly and enjoy!

HONEY BUTTER (FOR DINNER ROLLS)
1 c. butter
3/4 c honey
1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla
Beat for 30 minutes so it will not separate.

CINNAMON ROLL FROSTING
2 lb bag powdered sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 c shortening
2-3 tsp vanilla
Milk (Noelle used whipping cream)
Mix first 4 ingredients well. Add milk choice to get desired consistency.

Truffle Brownie Cups

Last year, Amanda R. made truffle brownie cups at the chocolate lover's food class. I thought I would try and post older cooking class recipes for newer members to enjoy.

Truffle Brownie Cups

1 2/3 c chocolate chips morsels, divided

2 Tbsp. butter (do not use margarine)

1/2 c sugar

1 egg

2/3 c all purpose flour

3/4 c heavy whipping cream

Assorted garnishes such as orange zext, maraschino cherries, toasted almond slices and whipped topping.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sprays wells of mini-muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour. Place 2/3 c of chocolate chips and butter into a batter bowl. Microwave on high 40-60 seconds or until smooth, stirring after each 20 second interval. Add sugar and egg to batter bowl; mix until blended using a scraper. Add flour; mix just until flour is incorporated. Using two teaspoons, divide batter evenly among wells, filling wells about two-thirds full. Using a tart shaper (or the bottom of a measuring sppon), gently tap batter to create level tops. Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are set. Do not overbake

Pour Cream into a measuring cup and microwave on high 1-2 minutes or until hot. Pour crfeam into clean batter bowl with remaining 1 cup chocolate chips; whisk until smooth. Place batter bowl into freezer 10-12 minutes or until mixture is cool and starting to thicken, stirring after each 5 minute interval. Spoon ganache into resealable plastic bag.

Remove pan from oven onto a cooling rack: cool 2 minutes. Press tops of brownies with a tart shaper (or bottom of measuring spoon) to make indentations. Cool in pan 3 minutes. Carefully remove brownies from pan. Trim corner of bag to allow the ganache to flow through. Pipe ganache evenly into brownie cups. Garnish as desired.

RS Birthday Celebration Recipes

Wasn't the Relief Society birthday absolutely wonderful?! Thank you to everyone who made it possible because it was such an uplifting and inspiring night. For those of you who missed it--we focused on God given creative talents. Which I may add-- includes food and these are some of the recipes requested from the event. Enjoy!

Chicken Salad

5-6 stalks celery (chopped)
1 can crushed pineapple (drained)
½ c craisens
2 cans chicken all white meat
2 boxes bow-tie or farfalle pasta (cooked and drained)
Red grapes (bunch)
cashews (optional)

Dressing:
1 bottle Kraft cole slaw dressing
1 c mayonnaise
Mix until combined and pour over salad and serve immediately.



Shaunel's Carrot Cake
1 c oil
1 1/2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Mix oil and sugar, add eggs and vanilla: mix until combined.

2 c flour
1 1/2 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. each of nutmeg, allspice & ginger
1 t salt

Add dry ingredients barely.

1 c grated carrot
1/2 c crushed pineapple
zest of one orange

Add the carrot, pineapple and orange zest, and beat until combined.
Other good stuff that can be added:walnuts or pecans, raisins, coconut.
Bake in 13 x 9 pan at 350 for 30-40 min. (depending on your oven: mine is really hot, and I had to take it out after 25).

If you're planning to serve cake on platter, put parchment paper on the bottom of your pan (turn pan upside down to cut parchment paper, place paper over greased bottom of pan).Cake is done when it springs back (after being poked), or inserted knife comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting (I like a sweet cream cheese frosting, otherwise it can overwhelm a cake)
4 T butter
1 8oz package of cream cheese
2 t vanilla
1-2 c powdered sugar (depending on desired sweetness)I also like decorating the cake with chopped nuts and orange zest on the top.




These chocolate cupcakes were made by Jennifer R .(The recipe come from Allrecipes.com.) I cheated and used a box of Devil's Food cake. Here is the frosting and it really light. This is wonderful on top of fresh fruit, carrot cake, cupcakes, lemond curd, pudding, cheesecake, etc.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

DIRECTIONS
1. In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream. Chill 2 hours and serve. Will keep for 2-3 days in the refrigerator.

Thai Fever

Our next cooking class will be held on April 28th at 7 p.m. and Jen Ferrara will share some of her favorite Thai dishes. We hope to see you there!

Bread Baking with Brittany D.

French Bread, Streusel Kuchen & Honey Whole Wheat Bread

We would like to thank Brittany for sharing her recipes and her talent with us at our recent cooking class. The bread was delicious and we had a great turnout. We have posted Brittany's recipes and tips here for those who were unable to attend. Enjoy!

French Bread
2 ½ c warm water
2 T yeast
3 T sugar
¼ c oil
1 egg yolk
6 c flour
1 t salt
1 egg white


Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water, letting it grow for 5-10 mins. Add oil, yolk, salt, and 2 c flour. Stir until smooth. Add remaining flour until dough is soft but not sticky. Set in greased bowl to rise until double. Punch down and form into 2 loaves. Let rise until double and brush with egg white. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

*Editor's note: Brittany demonstrated how she rolls out and forms the French Bread. After punching the dough down place on a floured surface. Using a rolling pin roll from the middle of the dough to outer edges. (If dough is rolled from top to bottom it will not stretch to the proper size.) Roll stretched out dough as if you were making cinnamon rolls. Once formed pinch seams together to keep dough shape.

Streusel Kuchen
3 T yeast
½ c warm water
1 c scalded milk
½ c butter
½ t lemon extract
2 eggs
½ c sugar
4-5 c flour
1 t salt

Combine yeast and water and let grow. Melt butter in scalded milk. Add to yeast mixture along with the eggs, sugar, and extract. Add flour until dough is soft and still a little sticky. Press into pan and rise for 30 minutes. Combine sugar, flour, butter and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Glaze with ¼ c lemon juice and 2-3 c powdered sugar. Best if served warm.

Crumbles:
1 c flour
1 c sugar
½ c butter

Glaze:
¼ c lemon juice
2-3 c powdered sugar

Honey Cracked Wheat
1 c milk, scalded
¼ c honey
2 t salt
1 T oil
1 c cracked wheat
2 T yeast
½ c warm water
1 c whole wheat flour
2 ¾ - 3 c flour

Combine milk, honey, salt, oil and cracked wheat. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add yeast and flours to the cracked wheat mixture. Beat 2 minutes on medium speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Knead 10 minutes. Let rise until double. Shape into loaf, brush with butter, and let rise till double. Bake at 400 for 30-35 minutes.

Bread Baking Tips
· Yeast needs to grow in warm water (baby bath temp, not hot). 1-2 T sugar just speeds up the process. Hot water kills the yeast, so the bread won’t rise at all.
· You can rise bread four ways: in the fridge for 2-4 hours, at room temp for 45-60 mins, in the microwave on low defrost for 1-2 mins at a time, or in a warm oven (below 170).
· Store yeast in the fridge or freezer.
· Over kneading dough or too much flour will make the bread hard and dry.
· For a crunchy crust, place a baking sheet and 6-12 ice cubes in the oven to steam the bread while it is baking.
· Always cover the dough with plastic wrap or a cloth while it is rising.
· If the bread is browning too quickly and is still doughy in the center, cover with tin foil for the remaining baking time. This stops the crust from burning or getting too dark.
· Sprinkle corn meal on the bottom of your baking sheet so that the crust doesn’t stick. It takes better than flour and adds a great crunch to the bottom crust.


Bread Variations
Cinnamon Rolls: roll out into a rectangle, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, roll up, and then cut into 1-inch segments. Let rise until double and then bake for 10-15 mins. Frost and serve.

Cinnamon Roll Loaf: prepare just like cinnamon rolls, but do not cut into segments. Place the whole loaf on a pan and bake. Once done, frost and then cut into segments.

Rolls: form into various roll shapes, let rise until double, and bake for 8-10 mins.

Herbed Bread Loaf: roll out into a rectangle, brush with oil olive, and then sprinkle with herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, or a mixture), and roll up. Let rise until double and then bake.

Pizza Crust: let rise once, then roll into a circle, place on the pan, and let it rise for 10-15 mins. Cover with sauce and toppings and then bake at 375-425 until cheese is browning.

Bread sticks: let rise once, then push dough into a greased 9x13 inch glass pan, brush with olive oil,sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and score with a knife to create sticks. Let rise 15-20 mins and bake at 350 for 12-15 mins. Serve hot with marinara sauce.