Pigs In The Blanket

This recipe was passed on to me from my British Grammy Jacques - Jacqueline Bradbury Kusior Maertens. I remember her making it for my sister and I when we were little and lived in California. I finally asked her for the recipe when I was in high school. Thanks, Gramma

1 Lg. Head Green Cabbage
1 lb. Ground Beef
1/4 C. Rice (any kind)
1 Med. Onion chopped finely
1 Egg
Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder to taste

1. Mix all ingredients until well blended

2. In a large pot put in whole head of cabbage. Bring the water to a boil and then turn to a simmer. Let cabbage leaves simmer until tender.

3. Gently pull cabbage leaves off and place a dollop of the beef mixture in center and roll up, closing the ends off half way through then finish rolling. Set all of the "Pigs" in a pot of hot water and let simmer for about 45 minutes or until rice is cooked through.

My Pops' Coffee Cake Recipe

Pre-Heat oven to 375 F.
Grease a 9x9 pan
SIFT TOGETHER:
1.5 C. All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Baking Powder
... set aside ...
CREAM UNTIL SOFT:
1/4 C. Unsalted Butter
1/4-1/2 C. Sugar

Add to butter/sugar mixture:
1 egg
2/3 C. Milk
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Add butter/sugar mixture to dry ingredients until smooth and well blended. Pour into greased pan and set aside.

TOPPING:
2 TBL All Purpose Flour
2 TBL Unsalted Butter
1/3 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Blend into crumbly mixture and spread evenly on top of cake. Bake for 45 minutes. :)

VOLCANO CAKE 100% Created by Chama Bovee - It will have them screaming, "YOU ARE THE COOLEST MOM E-VER!"

So for the moment I am going to tease you with just the photo of the cake... and when I get a moment I will post how I made this and how you, too, can be... THE COOLEST MOM E-VER. HA-HA!

VOLCANO: CONSTRUCTION FINISHED

VOLCANO: GLOWING

VOLCANO: SMOKING

PS... Sorry for the boasting in the title, but DANG I was rather darn proud of myself for conjuring this one up!

Green & Blacks

FOOD OF THE GODS

My FAVORITE Chocolate to eat and cook or bake with is Green and Blacks Organic Chocolates (and Scharffen Berger but we'll talk about that later). Amazing flavor and texture; it is far by the best. Their white chocolate is to die for and the fact that it is filled with little specks of vanilla beans makes it even better! There is something lovely, majical and Willy Wonka-ish about unwrapping a delicately foiled bar of chocolate. I always wait to find the Golden Ticket. My favorites are the White, Maya Gold, Ginger, Hazelnut and Current, and Dark 70%. Granted... I haven't had one that I don't absolutely love. Oh... They have many other amazing products, too, like Ice Cream and Hot Chocolate... the list goes on!

http://greenandblacks.com/us/

Icebox Raspberry Cheesecake adapted from Cook's Country

I used the same filling (sort-of) recipe as Icebox Oreo Cheesecake

COOKIE CRUST

1 Package of Newman's Own Chocolate ABC cookies

8 TBL Unsalted Butter, melted

CHEESECAKE FILLING

1 C. Half-n-Half (Divided 3/4 C. and 1/4 C.)

4 Large Egg Yolks

1/4 C. Cake Flour

8 Oz. White Chocolate, Chopped (I use Green & Blacks Organic White Chocolate)
2 lbs. Cream Cheese, cut into 1-inch chucks and softened

1/2 C. Confectioners' sugar

2 tsp.Vanilla Extract

1/8 tsp Salt

1 1/2 Pints Fresh Raspberries

1. For the chocolate cookie crust:

Process cookies in food processor until finely ground. Mix cookie crumbs and melted butter together. Line the 9x13 pan with waxed paper.

Press cookie mixture evenly into bottom and sides of a 9x13 pan (using and offset knife or a cake spatula is very handy for this). Refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

2. For the Cheesecake filling: Heat 3/4 C. milk in medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Meanwhile, whisk yolks, flour, and remaining milk in large bowl until smooth. Slowly whisk hot milk into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until very thick and glossy, 1-2 minutes. Off heat, whisk in white chocolate until melted. Transfer pudding to bowl, press plastic wrap directly on surface, and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

3. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and mix in chilled pudding until just combined, about 30 seconds. Gently turn in raspberries until evenly disbursed.

Pour Cheesecake filling over cookie crust and use a cake spatula (offset knife) to smooth the filling out evenly.

Refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours. Remove sides of pan and serve! Cheesecake can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Icebox Oreo Cheese Cake from Cook's Country

Serves 12 ... Depending on how you slice it :)



Oreo Cookie Crust
30 Oreo cookies, broken into rough pieces
7 TBL Unsalted Butter

Cheesecake Filling
1 C. Whole Milk (Divided 3/4 C. and 1/4 C.)
4 Large Egg Yolks
1/4 C. All Purpose Flour
8 Oz. White Chocolate, Chopped
2 lbs. Cream Cheese, cut into 1-inch chucks and softened
1/2 C. Confectioners' sugar
2 tsp.Vanilla Extract
1/8 tsp Salt
12 Oreo Cookies, broken into rough pieces

1. For the Oreo cookie crust: Process cookies and butter in food processor until finely ground. Press cookie mixture evenly into bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

2. For the Cheesecake filling: Heat 3/4 C. milk in medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Meanwhile, whisk yolks, flour, and remaining milk in large bowl until smooth. Slowly whisk hot milk into yolk mixture. Return mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until very thick and glossy, 1-2 minutes. Off heat, whisk in white chocolate until melted. Transfer pudding to bowl, press plastic wrap directly on surface, and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

3. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and mix in chilled pudding until just combined, about 30 seconds. Pour one-quarter of cream-cheese mixture evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle one-third of the cookies over surface. Repeat process twice, then top with remaining filling. Refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours. Remove sides of pan and serve!

Cheesecake can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Zucchini Fritters By Chama Bovee

2 1/2 C. Shredded Zucchini
2 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
4 Eggs
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
1 tsp. Granulated Garlic
Pinch of Cumin
1 C. Panko Crumbs
Cooking Oil

1. In two separate bowls shred Zucchini and Cheddar Cheese

2. In a large bowl whisk eggs, salt, pepper, garlic, and cumin until well blended. Add Panko and mix well then add Zucchini and Cheddar Cheese.

3. Heat oil in pan and when hot place a 1/4 C. of batter in center of pan and use the back of a metal spoon to spread batter until it is about 1/2 inch thick all around. Cook on one side until golden brown and then flip and cook. Press on the fritter when almost done to make sure the juice has cooked out thoroughly.