Russian Tea Cakes

I highly recommend Betty Crocker's Cooky Book- great illustrations and cookies for every holiday!

A Family Favorite-

Russian Tea Cakes 

1	cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2	cup powdered sugar
1	teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4	cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
3/4	cup finely chopped nuts
1/4	teaspoon salt
	Powdered sugar

1. Heat oven to 400ºF.
2. Mix butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla in large bowl. Stir in flour, nuts and salt until dough holds together.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Cool slightly on wire rack.
5. Roll warm cookies in powdered sugar; cool on wire rack. Roll in powdered sugar again.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/russian-tea-cakes/3af8664b-6c3e-4022-b686-cd961521e59b

Spicy Black Bean Cakes

Directions
Black Bean Cakes:
2/3 lb dried black beans (yields 4 cups cooked beans) 
2 tablespoons olive oil 
4 scallions, thinly sliced 
6 garlic cloves, pressed
1-2 jalapeños, finely chopped 
1 tablespoon ground cumin 
Coarse salt and ground pepper 
1 large sweet potato, peeled and coarsely grated (2 cups) 
1 large egg, lightly beaten 
½ cup plain dried breadcrumbs


Lime Sour Cream:
½ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 small jalapeño, finely minced
Cumin, garlic powder, and coarse salt, to taste


Black Bean Cakes:

1. Pick over beans to remove any debris or withered beans, then soak beans in water overnight. Drain and rinse beans. In a medium covered pot, cook beans in boiling water over medium heat until tender, about one hour. If you decide to use canned beans, use 2 cans low-sodium black beans and rinse them well before proceeding.
2. Heat broiler. In a small skillet, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Cook scallions until softened, 1 minute; then add garlic, jalapeño, and cumin, cooking just until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Add cooked beans to bowl; mash with a fork or a potato masher, leaving about ¼ of the beans whole; season generously with salt and pepper.  Using clean hands, gently fold in grated sweet potato, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs. With your hands, create lacrosse ball-sized mounds (slightly smaller than a tennis ball), and flatten into patties. Be careful not to make the mounds to big, or else the cakes might fall apart when you flatten them.
4. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and brush foil with remaining oil; place patties on sheet, ½ inch apart. Broil 4 inches from heat until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Carefully flip cakes with a thin metal spatula, and broil about 2-3 minutes more.

Lime Sour Cream:

1. In a small bowl, combine sour cream with lime juice and jalapeño; add a light dusting of cumin and garlic powder, stir well. Add coarse salt and stir well. Increase amounts of lime juice or spices, as desired.

A Martha Stewart Recipe 

http://littlescarlet.blogspot.com/2010/04/spicy-black-bean-cakes.html

Irish Eats

Irish Soda Bread 

http://lindsaycooks.com/2010/12/11/irish-soda-bread-recipe/

Steamed Cod, Champ, and Mustard Sauce 

http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/steamed-cod-champ-and-mustard-sauce

Guinness Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream

http://www.ourfamilyeats.com/2010/12/guinness-cupcakes-with-baileys-irish.html

Colcannon

http://thincrustdeepdish.blogspot.com/2010/03/colcannon.html

Guinness Beef Stew 

http://newlywedcooking.blogspot.com/2010/03/guinness-beef-stew-for-st-pattys-day.html

Corned Beef and Cabbage 

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/corned_beef_and_cabbage/

Kerry Apple Cake with Caramel Irish Cream Sauce 

http://www.diannesdishes.com/2007/03/kerry-apple-cake-with-caramel.html

Bangers and Mash 

http://www.carnivoreandvegetarian.com/2010/10/bangers-mash-with-onion-gravy-and-mushy.html

Irish Coffee Cake 

http://www.europeancuisines.com/Ireland-Irish-Coffee-Cake

Irish Curd Cheesecake

http://marriedanirishfarmer.com/2010/07/19/irish-curd-cheesecake/

Boxty

http://www.theparsleythief.com/2010/03/boxty.html

Irish Cream Marshmallows 

http://kokocooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/irish-cream-marshmallows-aka-pillows-of.html

Cold Irish Cocktail 

http://www.foodografia.com/2009/08/cold-irish-cocktail.html

Best Cookbooks of 2010

Cookbook Gift Guide

Crazy for Zucchini

There are many tasty zucchini recipes out there, but these have been two of my favorites-creative and delicious! 


FOR LUNCH OR DINNER:


Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake

*From 101 Cookbooks (click on the link to view the recipe/check out Heidi Swanson's other great recipes-her blog has to be one of my favorite cooking blogs!) 

Image from 101 Cookbooks 

2 cups zucchini, unpeeled & grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
zest of one lemon
2 large eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup goat cheese, crumbled
drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 325F degrees, racks the middle. Butter/oil a 7-inch springform pan.

In a strainer, toss the shredded zucchini with the salt and let sit for ten minutes. Now aggressively squeeze and press out as much moisture as you can. Set aside.

In the meantime, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, shallots, garlic, dill and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs and continue mixing until well combined. Now stir in the shredded zucchini. Fill the springform pan with the ricotta mixture and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake for sixty minutes. If there is any moisture left on top of the cake at this point, carefully use a bit of paper towel to dab it off. Now sprinkle with the goat cheese and return to the oven for another 20 -30 minutes or until the goat cheese is melted and the cake barely jiggles in the center (it will set up more as it cools).

At this point, if the cake is baked and set, but the top isn't quite golden, I'll zap it with the broiler (just about a minute) to get a bit more color on top. Remove from the oven and let cool five minutes, then release the cake from its pan. Cool completely, serve at room temperature drizzled with a bit of olive oil and a few sprigs of dill.

FOR DESSERT: 


Chocolate Zucchini Cake 

      *From Simply Recipes

Image from Simply Recipes 

2 1/2 cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted

1/2 cup cocoa

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup soft butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini

1/2 cup milk

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Glaze (directions follow)

      Preheat the oven to 350°F.

      Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

      With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter 

      and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel,  

      and zucchini.

     Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last

     addition.

     Pour the batter into a greased and flour-dusted 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about 50

     minutes (test at 45 minutes!) or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15

     minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool thoroughly.

     Drizzle glaze over cake.

    Glaze: Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth.

Remembering Summer

The grill is inside for the snowy New Hampshire winter, but I can still taste the juicy burgers and sweet corn on the cob.

EBK hard at work-

The tastiest kale recipe you will ever make-

Turkey Sausages with Kale and Chickpeas 

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon Extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 pound Reduced-fat sweet or hot Italian turkey sausages

1/2 Small onion, diced

11/2 Garlic cloves, minced

3/4 cup Lower-sodium chicken broth

1/2 (1-pound) bunch Kale, stemmed and roughly chopped (3 to 31/2 cups)

1/2 (15-ounce) can Chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausages and cook until browned on all sides, turning occasionally, 6 minutes. Remove from pan and cut each sausage in half on the diagonal.

2. Add onion and garlic to the same saucepan and cook over medium heat until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add broth and bring to a simmer. Add kale, cover, and cook until wilted and softened, about 8 minutes.

3. Add sausages and cook, covered, until no longer pink in the center, about 8 minutes. Add chickpeas and continue cooking, covered, until heated through, 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot, spooning any remaining cooking liquid on top.