Crab in Phyllo Pastry

makes 4 servings ...

2 3.6-oz cans crab meat, squeezed to drain
1 tablespoon sour cream
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
1 tablespoon finely chopped dill
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Juice of l/4 lemon
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
l/4 cup melted butter
6 sheets of phyllo pastry

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine the crab, sour cream, shallots, dill, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Grease a 2-cup shallow pan. Tear a phyllo sheet into three pieces to fit the pan. Place one piece on the bottom of the pan. Brush with butter. Repeat with more phyllo pieces until you have 9 layers, making sure to butter each layer with a pastry brush. (Keep the phyllo covered in a damp tea towel to prevent the pastry from drying out.)

Spread the crab mixture over the last layer of phyllo. Place and individually butter 9 more layers of phyllo, buttering the last layer as well.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.

Cajan Voodo Wings

This recipe recipe is inspired by Sonja Budden. She invited me over for wings one evening and served these delicious dry spiced wings...

Makes 2 to 4 servings ...

18 chicken wings (about 3 pounds)
1.5 ounces cajan spice
1.5 ounces cayenne pepper
1.5 ounces sweet paprika
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon black pepper

Preheat deep fat fryer to 360°F.

In a small container with a tight fitting lid, combine all spices and shake to mix well. Set aside.

Cut wing tips off at joint; cut each wing in half at joint.

Divide wings into 2 batches. Fry each batch approximately 8 - 12 minutes until golden brown.

Drain well on paper towels.

In a container with lid or brown paper bag, shake wings with several tablespoons of spice, to taste. Serve with blue cheese dressing , carrot and celery sticks.

The Amish Friendship Cake

A few years ago, my mother sent me what I thought was going to be a terrible gift. It was a jar of
a smelly liquid that looked as if it had already gone bad. She called it a "Starter" for what she
titled "The Friendship Cake". As I eyed the jar, I continued to read her letter of how this was a
wonderful cake starter and I would love it.
I was not convinced of my "good fortune", so I opened the cake she had baked from this goop,
and proceeded to eat. I don't believe I had ever tasted anything like it. It was actually good -
better than good - it was marvellous. I find that once the initial reaction of disbelief is over, my
friends truly love the gift (and hopefully the giver).

THE AMISH FRIENDSHIP CAKE initial STARTER RECIPE
Day One through day 14

1 cup cubed pineapple (drained)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brandy

Combine in a glass gallon jar. Let set it set for two weeks. Cover loosely with aluminum foil with a wooden spoon inserted through the foil to stir daily-DO NOT REMOVE FOIL OR SPOON!

Be sure to stir daily.
Day 15

Add 1 cup marachino cherries including the juice
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brandy.


Let set two more weeks, stirring daily.

On day 30

Strain the fruit from the juice using a plastic strainer. (DO NOT USE A METAL STRAINER.) The resulting "juice" is the "starter" for your Amish Friendship Cake.

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AMISH FRIENDSHIP CAKE secondary STARTER
First we prepare another starter from the starter above.

1-1/2 cups starter (prepared above)
1 large can sliced peaches (with juice)
2-1/2 cups sugar


Put peaches & juice in a gallon jar. Stir once a day for 10 days:

On the 10th day, add

2- 1/2 cups sugar
1 large can pineapple chunks & juice (Victoria uses a 1 lb - 4oz can).

Stir for ten days

on the 20th Day, add

2 -1/2 cups sugar
1 - 10 ounce jar Marachino cherries & juice
1 large can fruit cocktail & juice. (Victoria uses a 14-1/2 oz to 15 oz can)

Stir daily for ten days

on the 30th Day

Drain liquid from fruit. Divide the juice into 5-6 jars each containing 1-1/2 cups of juice. Give to friends and keep one for yourself. You friends can now start with the starter you have given them and make the 30-day cake directly.

Divide fruit in thirds. You can freeze 2/3 of the fruit to use later.

Note: When putting fruit or juice in jars, leave jars on the counter & DO NOT REFRIGERATE!! DO NOT PUT LID ON TIGHT, set it on top of jar - loosely! DO NOT PUT JUICE IN THE REFRIGERATOR!

Finally - THE AMISH FRIENDSHIP CAKE
4 boxes white cake mix with pudding in the mix
16 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
4 cups nuts, 1 1/2 to 2 is plenty though

Mix two boxes cake mix with fruit and two boxes with the oil and eggs. Then mix together.

Bake in well greased loaf pans at 350*F for 60 to 70 minutes. Do not open oven.

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Important Note: Do not use a metal strainer when straining the fruit.

When adding fruit and juice to the jar, leave it on the counter & DO NOT REFRIGERATE!! DO NOT PUT LID ON TIGHT , set it on top loosely! DO NOT PUT JUICE IN THE REFRIGERATOR!

Keylime Cheesecake

KEYLIME CHEESECAKE

Crust:
1 1/2 cups gingersnap crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lime zest

Filling:
1 1/4 pounds (two 8-ounce pkgs. + 4 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons Key lime or plain lime juice
3 eggs
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons lime zest

Preheat oven to 325° F. Spray bottom of spring form pan lightly with vegetable pan spray.

In medium bowl, stir together gingersnap crumbs, butter, sugar, and lime zest. Press mixture into bottom and sides of prepared pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven, cool.

Reduce heat to 250* F. In large mixer bowl beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar until well blended. Add flour, lime juice, eggs and heavy cream. Stir in the lime zest. Pour into prepared crust. Place shallow pan of water on bottom rack of oven. Place spring form pan on cookie sheet and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn off oven, leave door closed for 1 hour. Cool and refrigerate at least 4 hours. If desired, garnish with whipped cream and lime.
Makes 12-16 servings.

Ikea Meatballs

I don't know who has been to Ikea and has had the Swedish Meatballs with the Baby Potatoes and Lingonberry sauce, but they always hit the spot. Lingonberry Sauce is a partridgeberry sauce. Anyway, you can made these delicious morsals home. I've made this recipe several times and they always turn out great...

Swedish Meatballs

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs, soaked in 1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 small onion, grated and drained
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour (any kind)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
Lingonberry or cranberry sauce (optional)

1. Combine the first 8 ingredients. Form the mixture into 1-inch balls.

2. Place 3/4 of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs for about 10 minutes.

3. Remove them and most of the fat. Stir the flour and the remaining butter into the pan.

4. Add the broth. Simmer until it thickens, about 2 minutes.

5. Strain it with a sieve to remove clumps. Return it to the pan.

6. Reduce heat to low; stir in the sour cream.

7. Return the meatballs to the pan for 1 minute. Serve with the berry sauce.

Sausage, Fontina and Bell Pepper Strata

Today we started our Biggest Loser Club. Derek, Chantal, Doris, Paula and I each put $25.00 in a pot and weighed in. We are going to do our weigh in on Sundays and have a healthy breakfast. The girls made up a fresh fruit platter and I made this strata as we seemed to need meat, cheese, and eggs to complete the breakfast. It was excellent. I used Chorizo Sausage. You can buy it at Loblaw's in the deli section. It's already sliced. I also let the strara sit overnight in the fridge to marry the flavors. Also, I think I will cut up the bread in cubes instead of slices the next time I make the strata, instead of trying to fit slices in the dish.

Sausage, Fontina and Bell Pepper Strata

Ingredients

6 large eggs
21/2 cups whole milk
2 cups sliced green onions
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup finely grated Romano cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound hot Italian sausages, casings removed
1 large red bell pepper, halved, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch wide-strips
1 1-pound loaf rustic French bread, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 cups (loosely packed) coarsely grated Fontina cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2- inch ceramic or glass baking dish. Whisk first 7 ingredients in large bowl; sprinkle generously with pepper. Set aside.

Place sausage in large nonstick skillet; push to 1 side. Add bell pepper to other side of skillet. Sauteacute; over high heat, breaking up sausage with fork, until sausage is cooked through and bell peppers are brown in spots, about 7 minutes.

Arrange half of bread slices in prepared dish. Pour half of egg mixture over. Sprinkle with half of cheese, then half of sausagepepper mixture. Repeat layering. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to submerge. Bake strata until puffed and brown, about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

Hawaiian Lamb Chops

Doris and Chantal came over for dinner this evening. It's the first official meal in the new apt. with guests. I decided to do something really different, Hawaiian Lamb Chops. Doris had mentioned them in passing that someone she used to know make them years ago. She wished she had asked for the recipe. They were delicious. I served them with basmati rice and grilled asparagus and carrots.

Ingredients:
4 shoulder lamb chops 1 inch thick(arm or blade)
1 can (13 1/2 ounce) pineapple chunks drained(reserve syrup)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Preparation:
1 - Place lamb chops in shallow glass dish.
2 - Stir together reserved pineapple syrup, soy sauce, vinegar, and mustard.
3 - Pour over chops.
4 - Cover tightly; refrigerate at least 4 hours, turning chops occasionally.
5 - Drain chops; reserve marinade.
6 - Melt shortening in large skillet.
7 - Brown chops over medium heat.
8 - Add 1/4 cup reserved marinade to chops in skillet.
9 - Cover tightly; cook over low heat 30-45 minutes or until tender.
10 - In small saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch.
11 - Stir in remaining reserved marinade.
12 - Heat to boiling; stirring constantly.
13 - Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
14 - Add pineapple chunks and heat through.
15 - Serve chops with pineapple sauce.