Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year!

Tonight is going to be a special one at The Rodriguez residence.  We're throwing our annual New Year's Eve party!  Last night, Jay prepared Chicken & Beef Shish-Kabobs while I put together Jello Shooters & Rum Balls.

Today, I'll be mixing up some of Giada's amazing Stuffed Mushrooms!  I've never made them before but they sound really easy (PS I had a photo for you but Blogger isn't cooperating this morning)...

Stuffed Mushrooms
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
28 large (2 1/2-inch-diameter) white mushrooms, stemmed

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir the bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano, garlic, parsley, mint, salt and pepper, to taste, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl to blend.

Drizzle a heavy large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon olive oil, to coat. Spoon the filling into the mushroom cavities and arrange on the baking sheet, cavity side up. Drizzle remaining oil over the filling in each mushroom. Bake until the mushrooms are tender and the filling is heated through and golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Cinnamon Monkey Muffins

Cinnamon Monkey Bread Muffins
from the kitchen of Multiply Delicious

1 can Pillsbury Honey Wheat Reduce Fat Grand Biscuits
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons milk




Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a standard size muffin tin with non-stick spray, set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and ground cinnamon.

Take the biscuits out of container and cut each biscuit into quarters. Then take the quarters and roll into a ball.

Dip ball into the melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture coating the ball. Place ball into one of the muffin tin cups. Continue with the remaining balls. You should fit 3 balls in each cup to make a muffin.

Bake muffins for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Let muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan. Allow muffins cool an additional 10 minutes before drizzling icing on muffin tops.

To make icing:
Add milk a teaspoon at a time to the confectioners' sugar until it comes to a drizzling consistancy.

Makes 11 muffins

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Ginger-Pomegranate Sparkling Punch

16 oz. orange vodka
8 oz. Canton ginger liqueur or ginger coffee-flavoring syrup
8 oz. unsweetened pomegranate juice
750 ml sparkling wine, preferably Spanish Cava, chilled
Orange slices
Pomegranate seeds

1. Combine vodka, ginger liqueur and pomegranate juice in large pitcher; refrigerate until chilled.

2. To serve, fill pitcher with ice cubes; stir to combine. Pour mixture into chilled punch bowl. Top with sparkling wine; stir gently. Add more ice, if desired. Garnish with orange slices and pomegranate seeds.

14 (1/2-cup) servings

Friday, December 17, 2010

Spinach-Ricotta Lasagna

This recipe sounds amazing!  I'll definitely being trying this in the very near future :)

Spinach-Ricotta Lasagna
Sauce
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
1 (7-oz.) container sun-dried tomato pesto

Filling
2 eggs
2 (15-oz.) containers ricotta cheese (whole milk preferred)
1 (14- to 16-oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 (8-oz.) pkg. shredded Italian cheese blend, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot. Cook onion 3 to 4 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add tomatoes; crush with back of spoon or potato masher, keeping sauce chunky. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in pesto; remove from heat. (Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before using.)

2. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in ricotta cheese, spinach, half of the Italian cheese blend, Parmesan cheese and salt.

3. Spread about 1 1/2 cups sauce in bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Layer 4 noodles in dish. Spread with half the ricotta mixture; top with 1 cup sauce. Repeat with 4 noodles, remaining ricotta mixture and 1 cup sauce. Top with remaining 4 noodles, sauce and Italian cheese blend.

4. Cover pan loosely with foil sprayed with cooking spray. (If desired, place baking sheet on rack below lasagna to catch any juices that overflow.) Bake 50 minutes. Uncover; bake an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is browned and sauce is bubbling. Let stand at least 10 minutes, or cover loosely with foil and let stand up to 30 minutes.

8 servings

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

It's that time of year. You know what time I'm talking about. It's Fruit Cake time!!! Now, if you're anything like me, that means nothing more than if it were Asparagus Time or Brussel Sprout Time. However, for some people, it's the one dessert/snack they look forward to most this time of year.

With that said, I think I've come across a couple of the most perfect Fruit Cake recipes ever! The first is a recipe that my mother has used for as long as I remember. The second is the recipe my daughter swears by. I'm sure, no matter which one you choose to make, you will put a smile on the faces on, both, the fruit lovers & the fruit cake haters in your family. Enjoy!

Nut Cracker Fruit Cake (Mom's Version)

1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ tsp baking powder
1 ½ cups flour
½ lb butter
1 cup sugar
6 eggs

Sift an additional 1/3 cup flour into 1 ½ lbs glace pineapple chunks, 1 ½ lbs whole glace cherries, and 5 cups pecans.
Beat eggs well with mixer. Cream butter and sugar together, then add eggs and mix well. Sift flour with baking powder and blend with mixture. Add flavorings, then add the floured fruit and nuts. Mix well again and then pour into small loaf pans (small foil ones are fine) which have been well greased and then the bottoms lined with wax paper. Place in cold oven and bake at 275 degrees until lightly browned and a toothpick put in center of cake comes out clean. Approximately 2 hours. Store in refrigerator for thin, beautiful slices.

Nut Cracker Fruit Cake
(from the kitchen of Veronica Miller: her take on fruit cake)

1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp napalm
¾ tsp baking powder
1 ½ cups flour
½ lb butter
1 cup sugar
6 eggs

Sift an additional 1/3 cup flour into 10 lbs skittles, 1 kitchen sink and 5 cups pecans.

Beat eggs until they feel no more pain. Cream butter and sugar together, then add eggs and mix well. Sift flour with baking powder and blend with mixture. Add flavorings, then add the floured skittles and nuts. Mix well again and then pour into small loaf pans (small foil ones are fine) which have been well greased and then the bottoms lined with treasure map. Place in cold oven and bake at 275 degrees until it forms a brick and a toothpick put in center of cake comes out screaming “Mercy!”. Approximately 2 hours. Store in refrigerator forever.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Delivery With Style

Momma is delivering muffins with style!  Okay, maybe the 2001 Buick Century was more practical but it wasn't nearly as fun (or eye catching) as my new wheels.  Maybe I should change the name of my business to Penelope Pitstop's Muffins...