Warm Goat Cheese Salad

Crispy salad greens tossed with a spicy mustard dressing and topped with warm goat cheese is a delicious salad combination!

One bag of mixed Spring Salad

6 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice

1 tsp. Dijon Mustard

1 egg, beaten in a shallow bowl

1 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan Cheese (not the green can, the real stuff)

1/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs

1 8 ounce log of Goat Cheese, Montrachet preferred sliced into 8 slices

1 Tbsp. butter

1Tbsp. olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice and Dijon mustard in a small bowl whisk thoroughly to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place the bread crumbs on a plate, add the Parmesan cheese then toss to combine.

Dip the goat cheese slices lightly in the egg, then coat both sides with the bread crumb mixture

Place the breaded goat cheese slices on a plate and refrigerate for 15 minutes at least (may be prepared ahead, cover)

Just before serving, melt the butter with the olive oil in a skillet do not allow the butter to brown. Over medium heat cook the cheese slices until golden brown on both sides about 4-5 minutes.

Whisk the dressing to blend, drizzle the dressing over the salad greens to coat lightly, toss then season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange dressed salad greens on plates that have chilled in the freezer. Arrange cheese on top. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Best Ever Ice Cream Sandwiches

Once you make ice cream sandwiches this way, there is no going back to store bought ice cream sandwiches … EVER!

1 pint of good quality coffee ice cream, softened

12, 3 inch Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Place 6 cookies upside down on a baking sheet that will fit in the freezer, the flat side of the cookie must be facing up. Using an ice cream scoop place a scoop of ice cream in the center of each cookie. Top the ice cream with another cookie, flat side down. Gently press down on the top cookie to spread the ice cream to the edge of the cookie. When you have made all six sandwiches, cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least two hours. You may wrap the sandwiches individually and store for a month (I guarantee they will NOT last that long). Six delectable, delightful Ice Cream Sandwiches

You may vary the cookie-ice cream combinations to suit your taste! Have fun and enjoy!

Simply Sensational Cheese Straws

Wow your guests with these tasty delights.  Cheese straws are very simple to make using frozen puff pastry from the grocery store.  They make an elegant appetizer presentation when you stand them in a decorative glass.

I box (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted in your refrigerator

1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. of water, in a shallow bowl

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

3/4 cup finely grated Gruyere Cheese

2 tsp. Kosher Salt

2 grinds of fresh black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine both cheeses, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.  Roll out one sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured cutting board.  Brush the surface of the pastry lightly with the egg.  Sprinkle half of the cheese mixture evenly over the puff pastry.  Using a rolling pin lightly roll the cheese mixture into the pastry.  Cut the pastry crosswise into 12 strips.  Twist each entire strip then place on a baking sheet.  Repeat the process with the remaining pastry and ingredients.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly brown and puffy, turn each straw and bake another 2-3 minutes, do not overbake.  Serve at room temperature.  Makes 24 cheese straws.

Traditional Irish Corn Beef And Cabbage

Editor’s note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Irish Traditional Cooking by Darina Allen.

Although this dish is eaten less frequently nowadays in Ireland, for Irish expatriots it conjures up powerful nostalgic images of a rural Irish past. Originally it was a traditional Easter Sunday dinner. The beef, killed before the winter, would have been salted and could now be eaten after the long Lenten fast, with fresh green cabbage and floury potatoes. Our local butcher corns beef in the slow, old-fashioned way which, alas, is nowadays more the exception than the norm.

Servings: Makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

4 lb corned brisket of beef
3 large carrots, cut into large chunks
6 to 8 small onions
1 teaspoon dry English mustard
large sprig fresh thyme and some parsley stalks, tied together
1 cabbage
salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation

Put the brisket into a saucepan with the carrots, onions, mustard and the herbs. Cover with cold water, and bring gently to a boil. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Discard the outer leaves of the cabbage, cut in quarters and add to the pot. Cook for a further 1 to 2 hours or until the meat and vegetables are soft and tender.

Serve the corned beef in slices, surrounded by the vegetables and cooking liquid. Serve with lots of  potatoes and  mustard.

Simple Luscious Raspberry Tart

Nothing is more breathtaking for dessert than luscious red raspberries gleaming from atop a delicious tart.  Make this simple tart and everyone will be impressed, once they taste it they will be in awe!

One frozen premade pie crust (the kind that you get in a box and unroll)

2 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. of heavy cream

One pound of Marscapone Cheese

3 Tablespoons of sugar

1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp. Framboise Eau de Vie

15 ounces of fresh raspberries

2 Tbsp. of seedless raspberry jam

1-2 tsp of water

Prepare and bake the pie crust in an eight inch tart pan.  Follow the package directions.

In a medium size bowl mix together the cheese, sugar, vanilla and Framboise

Combine the chopped chocolate with the cream in a small saucepan and melt slowly and gently over low heat, be careful not to burn

Once the baked tart crust has cooled, paint the bottom and sides of the tart shell with the melted chocolate mixture.

After the chocolate has hardened, spoon in the cheese mixture and distribute evenly in the tart shell

Place the raspberries on the cheese mixture with the ends pointing up, cover the entire tart with the berries

Melt the raspberry jelly in a small saucepan or in the microwave (for a few seconds), be careful not to burn, add a little bit of water to the jelly until it has the consistency of a glaze.  Spoon the glaze evenly over the berries.  Allow the glaze to thicken on the berries before serving

Send A Love Note

Want to make the guy in your life swoon?  Send him a love note.  Put simple little notes in unexpected places: in his briefcase, on his pillow, on the visor in his car.  These simple little notes are a special gesture that show him how much you care, they’re fun and spontaneous and you’ll be on his mind all the time.

Tortellini Soup With Parmesan Crisps

 Want  a quick, easy and delicious meal?  Tortellini in a Light Chicken Broth served with Parmesan Crisps fits the bill perfectly.  You can have a delicious meal ready in less than 15 minutes!  This recipes serves a light meal for four or more hearty meal for two.  Serve with a glass of Lambrusco Concerto, Buon Appetito!

4 cups of low sodium chicken broth

Freshly ground black pepper-3 grinds

9 ounce package of Fresh Sweet Italian Sausage Tortellini or Cheese Tortellini or use a combination, you can find this in the refrigerated pasta section at your market

4 baby spinach leaves

Fresh lemon juice

4 Tbsp. Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Bring the broth to a boil in a large saucepan, add the tortellini, reduce heat so that broth simmers and cook according to package instructions until the pasta is al dente, about 7 minutes.

Season with pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Place a spinach leaf in the bottom of each soup bowl, ladle in broth and tortellini, sprinkle each serving with 1 Tbsp. of Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese and serve with Parmesan Crisps.

Parmesan Crisps

1/2 cup coarsely grated fresh Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil (if you have a silicone liner such as Silpat, use that instead of foil).  Place one heaping tablespoon of cheese on prepared pan and pat down lightly.  Space the cheese mounds about 1/2 inces apart.  Bake for 3-5 minutes being careful not to burn.  Let cool and serve.  Makes 8-10 crisps.

Mojitos

I’m not really a big drinker but love the name!…and FYI, should anyone tell you I have a fondness for Margaritas, they don’t really know me…my weakness is Mojitos…low calorie Mojitos…lots of them…well, not reallly…..ok, ok, lots of them…..I mean, they are low cal, right?…and they have fruit in them too (limes)…and vegetables (mint leaves and ginger)….why, look! Turns out they’re plumb healthy!!

MINNY MOO MOJITOS

Ingredients:
1-2 lime, cut into 6 wedges (I actually prefer a whole lime to get a full serving of fruit)
2 tablespoons lime juice (fresh or the plastic fake)
3 or 4 mint leaves (tear into quarters…not too small, you don’t want to have ’spinach teeth’)
piece of ginger root (I finely grate the root to get just a tiny bit of flavor into the muddled mix)
1 package of Splenda (or whatever lo cal sweetner works for you or if you don’t mind a few extra calories..try 1 tablespoon honey (warm up in
microwave first and don’t eat the rest of the bottle off your fingers or its not so low cal anymore)
Shot or 2 of Rum (try 1 first and maybe 2 for later batches, approx 2 oz)
Glass of sugar free club soda (double amount of Rum, approx 4-6 oz)

Instructions:
1. Fill a martini shaker with 1 cup ice. Add lime wedges, lime juice, mint and ginger. Muddle lime and mint with a pestle or a long spoon until well-bruised and fragrant.

2. Combine Splenda (or honey), rum and club soda and mix until Splenda or honey is dissolved; pour into shaker with fruits & veggies; strain into glass and add a lime wedge and mint leaf to make it pretty and drink up!

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