Roasted Broccoli, Hot Dog Buns and Chocolate Chip Cookies for a Spontaneous Dinner with Friends

Homemade Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns
(using a Bread Maker)
via: Craving Comfort Food blog

1 1/4 cups milk, slightly warmed
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cups bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions
(hamburger buns, if you want hot dog buns. cut 'em to that shape)
Place all ingredients in pan of bread machine, according to manufacturer's directions.
Select dough setting.
When cycle is complete, turn out onto floured surface.
Cut dough in half and roll each half out to a 1" thick circle.
Cut each half into six 3 1/2" rounds with inverted glass as a cutter.
Place on greased baking sheet far apart and brush with melted butter.
Cover and let rise until doubled, about one hour.
Bake at 350° for 9 minutes.
Note: Oven temperatures vary so check after 9 minutes to see if done.


----------------------

The Very Best Roasted Broccoli You've Ever Had
via: Amateur Gourment
(Inspired by a recipe from Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa)

4-5 pounds Broccoli, washed, dried and cut into florets
4-5 Garlic cloves, cut into thin slices
5 TBL. Olive Oil
1 1/2 tea. Sea Salt
1/2 tea. Pepper, gorund

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Line your pan with foil. Toss the broccoli, garlic, olive oil and sea salt. Roast in the oven until it is kind of caramelize(some of the ends will be a small bit brown and crispy), about 20-25 minutes.

(We all thought this was wonderful!)

-----------------

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies
via: The Very Best Baking


2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:
PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

Techno Gremlins on the Prowl - Not My Best Day

It started out just like any other day, but quickly took a turn in the road. It began simply enough with a desire to check my email only to find that my computer was corrupt. It stared me down with an ugly dark blue screen, void of any twinkle of life. On the way to school I found that my speedometer was no longer registering my speed. That was easy enough to deal with by simply pacing myself to the others around me. In the parking lot at school I came to notice that I left some of my water at home and that I was wearing not only my dirty apron, but also my slippers. (Thankfully I had another pair of shoes with me in the car.) Things are looking up, I thought. But oh no, come period 3, my school computer, which housed my lessons and digital material for the day, crashed, too. This was announced by the many error messages boxes proclaiming a doomed hard drive. I had worried how the afternoon might go as I was scheduled to run a webinar that begins a new Web 2.0 class that I started today. Thankfully, my little netbook computer was a champ and saved the day.

After a day like that I decided that I needed the stress relief that a little knitting and movie would provide. So I pulled out my mittens, the ones I started the night I watched a movie with my boy. Laying in bed that night I realized that I had made an error and that I needed to frog it. So, I pulled it out, started the movie and started the knitting again. I found "Marily Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School" while browsing Netflix. It was just the ticket I needed for such a failure of the day.

Clam Dip and Strawberry Sauce Recipes

On Sunday we had a triple birthday celebration at my Aunt Kathy's house. She hosted a wonderful part. We had a rib roast, steamed broccoli and carrots, crusty sour dough bread, mashed potatoes and salad. For dessert we enjoyed a French Silk pie with vanilla ice cream. She also made a Strawberry sauce that had a bit of Grand Marnier which Ethan really liked.
----------
Aunt Kathy was kind enough to share recipes for the favorites from the meal.

Clam Dip

6.5 oz. Clams (drained)
3 oz. Cream Cheese
2 TBL Mayonnaise
2tea. Onion, chopped
2 tea. Parsley (or cilantro), chopped
1 tea. Worchestershire
Dash of Hot Pepper Sauce

Combine all ingredients and chill to allow the flavors to blend. Serve with crackers.

Yield 1 cup (double recipe for a group)

-----------
Cold Raspberry or Strawberry Sauce
from: The New York Times More 60 Minute Gourmet Meals

1 pint Fresh or Frozen Raspberries or Strawberries (or 10 oz. Frozen)
1/2 Juice of a Lemon (or 3/4 Juice of a Lime)
1/4 - 1/2 cup Sugar
2 TBL. Framboise or Grand Marnier

If using fresh fruit, rinse and pat dry.
Put the fruit in a food processor with the lemon/lime juice. Add the sugar (use 1/2 cup sugar if you are using frozen fruit or 1/4 cup for fresh fruit) and blend thoroughly. Add the Frambiose or Grand Marnier.

Yields 1 1/3 cups.

Aunt Lynne's Swedish Pepparkakor (Molasses Spice) Cookies

Swedish Pepparkakor Cookies (Molasses Spice Cookies)
via Aunt Lynne

6 TBL. Butter, softened
6 TBL Canola Oil
1 1/2 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 TBL Water
1/4 cup Molassas (Brer Rabbit is best!)
Cream the above items together.
Mix in:
3 cup Flour
1/4 tea. Cloves, ground
1/4 tea. Ginger, ground
1 tea Cinnamon, ground
2 tea Baking Soda
1/2 tea
Salt
The resulting dough will seem very dry. Form small balls. Place them onto the cookie sheet. Place extra sugar in a small bowl (I use a ramakin) , dip the flat end of a drinking glass in the dough, then into the sugar and use to flatten a mound of dough. Repeat until all cookies are flattened and sugared. Dough should be kept cool at this point.<

Bake at 375 in a [reheated oven for 8 minutes. Watch closely as they burn easily. Remove onto a rack or paper towels to cool. This makes about 60 cookies. They freze well.

Creole Spiced Shrimp and Cheese Grits

Creole Spice Shrimp and Cheese Grits
via: Katria Runs for Food blog

GRITS

2 Tablespoons of butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 cup milk
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 cup water, and additional may be needed to thin grits.
1 cup quick cooking grits
1/4 cup EACH of cheddar, parmesan, gruyere cheeses.
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Shrimp

1/2 cup butter, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons creole or cajun seasoning
1-1/5 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 64 shrimp)
8 ounces dry white wine*
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup finely chopped tomato
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Garnishes: julienned prosciutto, crumbled cooked bacon, chopped fresh chives
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan. Add garlic and 1 tablespoon thyme; sauté 1 minute. Add milk and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; whisk in grits. Reduce heat to lowest setting; cook 10 minutes or until done, stirring occasionally. Add cheeses and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm. If they set too firmly when ready to serve with shrimp, add water or milk to thin and reconstitute.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet. Add garlic, celery, bell pepper, onions, thyme, cajun seasoning; sauté 30 seconds. Add shrimp, and cook 7 minutes. Remove shrimp and veggies from skillet.
Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to low; whisk in remaining butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Stir in lemon juice, tomato, and parsley. Cook 3-5 minutes. Return shrimp and veggies to pan. Stir to mix with butter tomato sauce. Serve over grits. Garnish, if desired.
* If you would rather not use the wine, use broth or lemon juice.

Sweet Potato Pancakes and Ginger Butter

Ginger Butter
via Epicurious

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons finely chopped drained stem ginger in syrup,* syrup reserved

*Stem ginger in syrup is available in Asian markets and some supermarkets.
print a shopping list for this recipeview wine pairings

preparation

Beat butter and chopped ginger in small bowl to blend. Beat in 2 to 3 teaspoonfuls ginger syrup to sweeten to taste. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)


Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ginger-Butter-5779#ixzz1iG4Kp9U7

------------
Sweet Potato Pancakes
via Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

3/4 pound sweet potatoes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
Directions

Place sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan of boiling water, and cook until tender but firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, and immediately immerse in cold water to loosen skins. Drain, remove skins, chop, and mash.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Mix mashed sweet potatoes, eggs, milk and butter in a separate medium bowl. Blend sweet potato mixture into the flour mixture to form a batter.
Preheat a lightly greased griddle over medium-high heat. Drop batter mixture onto the prepared griddle by heaping tablespoonfuls, and cook until golden brown, turning once with a spatula when the surface begins to bubble.