Amy's Recipe of the Day

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Location: Texas, United States

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Gnocchi With Basil Butter


This is made with dried basil because another animal stripped my basil plants in my windowbox AGAIN. It was awfully nice of it to leave me the bare stems...

1 ½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
4 quarts water
½ cup butter, cubed
4 tsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1-2 tsp dried basil, or ¼ cup fresh basil, chopped tiny
Grated parmesan, optional

Boil potatoes until tender; drain and return to pan. Stir over very low heat until steam evaporates; mash. Cool slightly.

Using a fork, make a well in the potatoes; sprinkle with flour. Whisk egg, salt and pepper; pour into well. Stir until blended. On a lightly floured surface, knead 10-12 times, forming a soft dough.

Divide dough into 4 portions. On a floured surface, roll each portion into ½-inch thick ropes. Cut into ¾ - inch pieces. Press and roll each piece with a lightly floured fork.

In a Dutch oven, bring water to a boil. Cook gnocchi in batches for 30-60 seconds or until they float (it took mine a little more than a minute.) Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.

Melt butter. Add thyme or basil and gnocchi; stir gently to coat. Sprinkle with cheese (I also like to sprinkle with the tiniest bit of salt) and serve. Makes 5 servings.

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Monday, July 28, 2008

Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies


There are no eggs in the dough, so make extra so you can eat some of the dough with a spoon. It melts in your mouth... Honey and butter.... Mmmmm.... (Note: Dough is not as thick as in regular chocolate chip cookies.)

1 1/4 c.all purpose flour
1/2 tsp.baking soda
1/8 tsp.salt
1/2 c.salted butter,softened
1/4 c.white sugar
1/2 c.honey
1 c.(6oz.)semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.In a small bowl combine flour,soda & salt.Mix well with a wire whisk & set aside.

In another medium bowl blend butter,sugar & honey with an electric mixer at medium speed.Beat till light & soft,then scrape sides of bowl.

Add flour mixture & chocolate chips,blend at low speed just till combined.Do not over mix.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonsful onto ungreased cookie sheets,1 & 1/2 inches apart.Bake 18-20 minutes or til light golden brown.Immediately transfer cookies to a cool,flat surface.

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Saturday, July 26, 2008

Soutwestern Turkey Cheddar Burgers With Grilled Onions


3/4 cup finely chopped Maui or other sweet onion
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey breast
Cooking spray
4 ounces extrasharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
6 (1/2-inch-thick) slices Maui or other sweet onion
6 (2-ounce) Kaiser rolls, split
6 tablespoons Chipotle-Poblano Ketchup

Prepare grill.
Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Divide mixture into 6 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.
Place patties on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes. Turn patties over; grill 2 minutes. Divide cheese evenly over patties; grill an additional 5 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°. Remove from grill; let stand 5 minutes.
Place onion slices on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until browned and tender.
Place rolls, cut sides down, on grill rack; grill 1 minute or until toasted. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each roll; top each serving with 1 onion slice, 1 tablespoon Chipotle-Poblano Ketchup, and top half of roll.


Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 burger)

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Crunchy Turtle Cookies


Dough:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/3 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c chopped pecans (I skipped these because I didn't have time to chop nuts)

Caramel Layer:

16 oz (about 56) caramels, unwrapped (new unwrapped Caramel bits work fine)
3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

Chocolate Layer:

8 oz. (2 baking bars) Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate, broken into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350o. In a large bowl, cream the sugar, shortening, butter, vanilla, and egg until fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Gradually pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing well. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place them 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Lightly spray the bottom on a drinking glass with cooking spray. Dip it into granulated sugar and flatten cookie into a circle approximately 1/4 inch thick. Recoat the bottom of the glass with sugar and flatten another cookie. Repeat until all dough is flattened. Sprinkle the chopped pecans on the cookies, pressing lightly to set. Bake 9-10 minutes until set but not browned.

To make caramel layer, place caramels and cream in a heavy saucepan and cook over low heat until melted, stirring occasionally. Spoon the caramel over the cooled cookies, to within 1/4 inch of the edges.

While the caramel sets, make the chocolate layer. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over hot but not boiling water. Stir occasionally until smooth. Add the melted butter, stirring until well blended. Spoon a teaspoonful of the chocolate over caramel on each cookie; spread with the back of the spoon to cover most but not all of the caramel layer. Immediately press 1 pecan half into the chocolate on each of the cookies. Store tightly covered.

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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Great Gram's Potato Salad


5 boiled potatoes
5 hard boiled eggs
1 medium onion


Chop all.

Sauce:


1 1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar
4 Tbsp flour
3 Tbsp sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp mustard


Mix water, vinegar, flour, sugar, and eggs. Cook until thick., stirring constantly. Add salt to taste. Add butter and mustard. While warm, add potatoes, eggs, and onion. Chill.

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