Show-Off Recipes

DRINKS AND DESSERTS

Mock Champagne
Lindsey Dewey

Boil 6 cups sugar with 6 cups water

Add 2 quarts grapefruit juice, 6 quarts gingerale and ice

Egg Nog
Shelly Rigby
2 eggs, well beaten ("fake" eggs work well)
1 can sweetened condensed milk (low or non-fat is available)1 tsp. vanilla1 qt. milk (skim milk is okay)1 c. whipping cream (don't let peak)

Combine eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla. Slowly add the quart of milk. Fold in the whipped whipping cream. Sprinkle with nutmeg and let chill for several hours before serving.

Turtle Pecan Cheesecake
Sarah d’Evegnee
This recipe is from a cookbook that Eric and I got for our wedding and is one of the first “gourmet” recipes I tried as a newlywed. If the amount of stickiness on this page of the cookbook is any indication of how much we love it, we love it to a positively filthy degree!

 

After ten years of trying out different recipes, it is still my favorite cheesecake recipe.

8 oz chocolate vanilla wafer cookies
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
2½ packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar
4 ½ teaspoons flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large eggs
2 Tablespoons whipping cream
Caramel Topping (recipe follows)
Chocolate Topping (recipe follows)

1 cup chopped toasted pecans
Preheat oven to 450.

Crush cookies in plastic bag with a rolling pin. Combine cookies and butter and press onto bottom of 9 inch springform pan. Beat cream cheese until creamy and then add sugar, flour, salt, and vanilla; miz well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in cream. Pour over crust. Bake 10 minutes,Reduce oven temperature to 200. Continue baking 35-40 minutes or until set. Loosen rim of pan and remove; cool

Drizzle caramel topping over cheesecake in a zig-zag pattern. Drizzle chocolate topping over cheesecake in a zig-zag pattern, but in the opposite direction of the caramel. Sprinkle with pecans. This gets better as it sets, so I would suggest making it at least 12 hours in advance if you can!

If you’re short on time, you can always use pre-made toppings, but if you have the time, these ones are phenomenal!

Caramel Topping:

7 ounces (1/2 bag) caramels
1/3 cup whipping cream

Combine ingredients in small saucepan; stir over low heat until smooth.

Chocolate Topping:

4 ounces sweet baking chocolate
1 teaspoon butter
2 Tablespoons whipping cream

Combine ingredients in small saucepan; stir over low heat until smooth.

Pistachio Cookies

Gennifer Rawlings

These are only "impressive" if you haven't seen the recipe! They're so easy, and they're cute on a platter.

1 Cup Butter, softened

1/3 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
¾ Teaspoon Almond Extract

½ Cup Mini Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Package (3.4 oz) Instant Pistachio Pudding 

Mix 2 Cups Flour

Cream together butter, sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extract. Add pudding mix, flour and chocolate chips. Mix well.

Roll into 1” balls and press thumb in middle of ball.
Bake 350 ° for 12 minutes or until edge is golden.

Filling:
¼ Cup Butter, softened
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2-3 Tablespoons Milk

Food Coloring

Mix well and put a dollop on the top of each cookie.
Melt ½ Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. Put in baggie and cut offcorner of bag. Drizzle over cookies.

Dessert is Served
Kelly Eyring

This one is all about presentation.

You'll need a shrimp cocktail cup or a larger bowl with a nesting bowl on top. Fill the bottom bowl half full with water. Color the water with food coloring. Drop small chunks of dry ice in water just before serving. Place cold ice cream or sherbet in nesting dish. Spoon on topping if desired. Nest in top of other dish. Dry ice "fog" will create "OOhs and Ahhs from your guests. 

Try different color combos for holidays. Blue water with vanilla ice cream and strawberry topping for the 4th of July. Black water and orange sherbet for Halloween. Green water and pink peppermint ice cream for Christmas.

Roasted Almonds 

Shelly Rigby
(see eggnog photo above)
Preheat oven 250*

4 c. raw whole almonds

1 egg white

1 tsp. cold water
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon

½ c. sugar

Beat egg white and water until light frothy. Do not let peak. Add almonds to eggs and coat really well. Mix the rest of the ingredients. Bake1 hour stirring every fifteen minutes.

MAIN DISHES and APPETIZERS

Chicken Breasts in Phyllo
Christine Gilbert

1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup chopped green onion
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dry tarragon
12 chicken breast halves, boned and skinned
Salt and pepper
24 sheets phyllo dough
1 1/3 cups butter, melted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine first 5 ingredients to make a sauce. Lightly sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Place a sheet of phyllo on working surface. Quickly brush with melted butter (about 2 teaspoons). Place a second sheet on top of first. Brush with melted butter. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of sauce on each side of a chicken breast (3 tablespoons in all). Place breast in one corner of buttered phyllo sheets. Fold corner over breast, then fold sides over and roll breast

 up in the sheets to form a package. Place in an ungreased baking dish. Repeat with remaining breasts and phyllo sheets.

Brush packets with rest of butter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. At this point, the dish may be tightly sealed and frozen. Thaw completely before baking.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Serve hot.
(These are great to prepare in quantity then frozen until the day you are using them.)

Shrimp Platter Appetizer
Nicole Burt

1 8-oz pkg cream cheese
½ C sour cream
¼ C mayonnaise
2 cans (4 1/2) oz each) broken shrimp, rinsed and drained1 C cocktail sauce
2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1 green pepper, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 large tomato, diced
Combine cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise. Spread on a 12-inch glass plate. Scatter shrimp over the cheese layer. Cover cocktail sauce. Then add a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese, a layer of green peppers, and a layer of green onions. Arrange diced tomato in the center. Cover with plastic wrap and chill. Serve with assorted crackers.

Green Goddess Salmon
Kelly Eyring

This is really pretty with the pink salmon and then the green sauce and chopped red tomatoes on top. It sort of looks Holidayish.

1 cup loosely packed cilantro

2 Tbs. chopped parsley
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 salmon fillets, about 1 1/4 lbs.
2 plum tomatoes, diced

1. Heat oven to 400 F. Line a baking pan with foil, then coat with vegetable cooking spray. Place cilantro, parsley, olive oil, lime juice, salt pepper, and garlic in blender along with 2 Tbs. water. Process until smooth.
2. Place fillets on pan, spoon 1 heaping Tbs. of sauce on each, and sprinkle with tomatoes. Bake 13-18 minutes, until cooked through. Serve with extra sauce if desired. Serves 4


Salmon-in-a-Crust
Maija-Liisa Adams

Lohipiirakka--Finland
Every Finnish hostess has her own version of this fish pie.

1.5 cans salmon
2 T butter
1 T lemon juice
2 T minced fresh parsley
4-5 T dried dill weed
salt and pepper to taste
1 t onion powder
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
3 hard-boiled eggs
1 egg, thoroughly beaten
lots of melted butter:)
Lemon wedges for garnish

Drain water off of salmon, open second can, just scoop out half of it. In a small bowl, mix together with a fork: salmon, lemon juice, parsley, dill and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate at least 20 minutes.

Cover a large ungreased baking sheet with parchment paper. Or grease baking sheet; set aside. Shape on end to resemble a fish tail, not less than 6 inches wide. Arrange pastry on prepared baking sheet. Cut pieces of dough scraps to represent fins; press in place. Spread salmon, parsley mixture over pastry within 2 inches of the edge. Drizzle with butter. Now make a layer of rice and drizzle with more butter and sprinkle more dill weed over it. Next make a layer of chopped boiled eggs and again drizzle with butter and dill weed.

Roll remaining half of dough to a 20" x 10" oval. Moisten edges on bottom crust with water. Arrange top crust over salmon layer. Press top and bottom crust, shaping fins and tails. Brush surface with beaten egg.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut a hole where eye of fish should be. Insert a small ball of dough to keep hole open. With tips of scissors blades, cut top crust to simulate fish scales. These also serve as air vents during baking. Bake 35 minutes or until crust is lightly browned but still pale. To serve, cut in crosswise slices. Serve with melted butter, lemon wedges and Horseradish Mayonnaise. Makes 8 servings.

Cottage-Cheese Pastry
Maija-Liisa Adams

Rahkakuori--Finland
Use this lovely, flaky pastry for sweet or savory pies.

1 cup cold, firm butter
2 c all-purpose flour
1 small-curd cottage cheese
1-2 T ice water, if needed

In a large bowl, cut butter into flour until mixture is crumbly and pieces are about the size of peas. Stir in cottage cheese until mixture forms a crumbly dough. Knead lightly to shape into a ball, adding ice water a few drops at a time, if necessary. Chill 30 minutes before rolling out.

Keeps well in refrigerator if you'll use it within 2 days. It freezes well, so make it ahead of time.

Horseradish Mayonnaise
Maija-Liisa Adams

This is excellent with any cold fish.

1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp. grated fresh horseradish

In a medium bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Fold in mayonnaise and horseradish until blended. Refrigerate 15 to 30 minutes for flavors to blend. Makes about 2 cups.