Amy's Recipe of the Day

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Location: Texas, United States

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Hazelnut Cheesecake


Vanilla Almond Crust:

15-17 vanilla sandwich crème cookies
1/3 c chopped, toasted hazelnuts
1/4 c butter, melted


Crush cookies in food processor. Add almonds. Mix in melted butter. Press mixture onto 9- or 10-inch springform pan. Set aside.

Filling:

3 pkg (8 oz each) cream cheese
2/3 c sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
3 eggs
1/2 c whipping cream
1/2 c Frangelico liqueur
1 tsp vanilla extract


In large mixer bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and cornstarch. Beat until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in whipping cream, Frangelico, and vanilla extract. Pour cream cheese mixture over prepared crust. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 200 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until center no longer looks wet and shiny. (Should be slightly browned too; don't be afraid to leave it in a little longer.) Remove cake from oven. Run around inside edge of pan with knife. Turn oven off; return cake to oven for an additional 30 minutes. Chill, uncovered, overnight.

Chocolate Hazelnut Sauce:
1/2 c (3 oz) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
2 tsp shortening
2 Tbsp Frangelico

Microwave chocolate morsels and shortening on high in medium-sized microwave-safe dish. (It will fit into a small one, but you might spill it when you stir in the liqueur.) Stir until smooth. Add Amaretto and stir again until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cheesecake. Garnish if desired. Toasted hazenuts are great on top. Sometimes I make a little extra for better coverage.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Hot Ham Sandwiches


2 pkgs. Kings Hawaiian Rolls
1# shaved ham (I bought deli ham as opposed to packaged meat)
2 cups shredded Swiss or Monterey Jack (I used Monterey and cheddar)
3/4 cup melted butter or margarine
1 1/2 T. poppy seeds (can be omitted)
1 1/2 T. Worcestershire Sauce
2 T. minced dried onion
1 1/2 T. Dijon Mustard

Lightly grease 9x13 pan or spray with Pam.
Cut rolls in half, remove tops and set aside.
Place bottom halves in baking dish (it will be a tight squeeze).
Mix together butter, poppy seed, Worcestershire Sauce, onion and mustard. Spread half of mixture on roll bottoms.
Layer ham then top with cheese.
Replace tops and spread with remaining mixture. I usually cut the rolls apart after replacing tops and then spread with butter mixture.

Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Watch carefully so they don't get too brown or burn on top.

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Thursday, January 08, 2009

Asian Lettuce Wraps


• 2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 1 (8 ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup spicy peanut sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 24 leaves bibb lettuce, separated and washed (1 to 1 1/2 heads)
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
• 4 oz mushrooms, sliced (chop after sautéing)
• ½ tsp minced garlic
• ½ tsp minced bottled ginger
• 1 Tbsp (approximate) olive oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Saute mushrooms, garlic, and ginger in olive oil and sesame oil until soft. Chop.
In medium bowl, mix all the rest of the ingredients except lettuce and peanuts. You can use food processor or Pampered Chef chopper to make it go faster.
Spoon about 2 tbsp chicken mixture onto each lettuce leaf. Sprinkle with peanuts.

I didn't read this very well and processed my peanuts along with the rest of the filling. It was still good, and I don't think I'd change it for next time--no point in adding another step when it was good this way.
No Bibb lettuce available in our town, so I just cut red leaf lettuce down to size.

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