I had a busy day cooking getting ready for events that are
happening this week. Luckily I had the
left over bean soup for dinner as I was still taking cakes out of the oven at
6:30 PM. I tested out an appetizer recipe
to go with them that I had seen on the Barefoot Contessa show. They were made by Mary Giuliani and if you go
to the FoodTV network put in Mary’s
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Pepper Jack, Mango and Watercress. There are three there if this interests you. As they are really just up-graded grilled
cheese sandwiches, I decided to try them and see what I thought of them as
appetizers. I thought they were a little
heavy, but it could have been my choice of bread.
Ingredients:
2 slices soft white bread (I used whole wheat)
2 t unsalted butter, melted
2 T mango puree (made from store bought frozen mango
concentrate which is then heated until reduced) (I had a sour cherry spread
that I serve with cheese. I used that)
2 T watercress
2 slices pepper jack cheese
Directions:
1.
Brush both sides of each slice of bread with the
butter and spread the mango puree on both sides of each slice of bread. (I just put my cherry spread on one side.)
2.
Arrange the watercress over the top on one side
of a slice of bread.
3.
Place the cheese on top of the watercress and
top with the second piece of bread.
4.
Heat a griddle on top of the stove over
medium-high heat.
5.
Place the sandwiches on the griddle and grill
for about 1 minute on each side or until the bread is golden brown and the
cheese is melted.
6.
Slice the sandwich into 8 small serving
pieces.
I made two candies to give as gifts today. The first is also from FoodTV and is called Neely’s Chunky Chocolate Delight. This is quite delicious and easy to make.
Ingredients:
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
½ C heavy cream
2T corn syrup
2 T unsalted butter
¼ t salt
¼ t cayenne pepper
1 C dried tart cherries
1 C shelled pistachios
Edible gold leaf, for garnish (did not have)
Directions:
1.
Line a 13”x9” pan with foil, leaving 2 handles
extended from the sides.
2.
Add the chocolate to a glass bowl set over
simmering water. Stir constantly to melt
the chocolate.
3.
Add the heavy cream, corn syrup, butter, salt
and cayenne. Stir until smooth and
remove from the heat.
4.
Add the cherries and pistachios and stir to
incorporate.
5.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and
smooth out the mixture evenly with a rubber spatula.
6.
Sprinkle with edible gold leaf on top, if using.
7.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to firm up.
8.
Once the chocolate is firm, remove it from the
pan, using the foil handles to lift it.
Remove the foil form the bottom and cut the chocolate into chunks on a
plastic cutting board with a sharp knife.
Mine is in the refrigerator and tomorrow I will cut it up
and package it along with the next candy for my guests.
This next recipe came out of Food and Wine Magazine. The creator is a Chicago chef named Bryce Caron. This recipe was a little tricky. The cooking time is longer than stated, but
the time is probably based on a professional kitchen stove. It is called Spiced Cashew Brittle.
Ingredients:
1 ½ C whole raw cashews
1 C sugar
½ C light corn syrup
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
¼ C water
½ t baking soda
¼ t cayenne pepper
Directions:
1.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2.
Spread the cashews on a small baking sheet and
toast for 10 minutes, stirring once.
Keep the cashews warm.
3.
Line a rimmed bakeing sheet with buttered
parchment paper.
4.
In a saucepan, bring the sugar, corn syrup,
butter and water to a boil.
5.
Cook over moderately high heat, stirring until a
deep amber toffee forms, about 10 minutes.
(Mine took almost double the time.)
6.
Remove from the heat. Whisk in the baking soda and cayenne; it will
bubble up.
7.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in the warm cashews.
8.
Pour the hot candy onto the baking sheet and
spread it as thinly as possible. (Be
very fast here)
9.
Let cool completely, then break unto pieces.
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