Thursday Recipes

Enjoy!

IN-A-PINCH PROFITEROLES

This was in the March 2008 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 39. It begins, "This dessert can be adapted to use any type of ice cream or cookie. Leftover chocolate sauce will keep up to 2 weeks if stored in an airtight container in the fridge." Serves 6 in 30 minutes or less.

Profiteroles

1 pint vanilla soy ice cream

1 cup crushed cinnamon graham crackers (15 crackers)

Chocolate Sauce

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tbs. soy margarine

To make Profiteroles: Scoop ice cream into 12 small balls with large cookie scoop. Roll in graham cracker crumbs, and store in airtight plastic container in freezer until ready to serve.

To make Chocolate Sauce: Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, and 1 cup water in small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, and cook 3 minutes, whisking often. Stir in margarine; cook 3 minutes more.

To serve: Place 2 Profiteroles on each plate. Drizzle with warm Chocolate Sauce.

nutritional information Per Serving (2 profiteroles): Calories: 300; Protein: 4 g; Total Fat: 13 g; Saturated Fat: 4 g; Carbohydrates: 45 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 266 mg; Fiber: 3 g; Sugar: 31 g; Vegan

ZUCCHINI GRATIN

This comes from Ina Garten of The Food Network show Barefoot Contessa. This recipe begins, “Round out your perfect picnic or cookout with summer side dish recipes for pasta salad, potato salad, coleslaw and more from your favorite chefs at Food Network.” Total Time: 1 hr 5 min; Prep: 10 min; Cook: 55 min; Yield: 6 servings; Level: Easy

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/zucchini-gratin-recipe2.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for topping

1 pound yellow onions, cut in 1/2 and sliced (3 large)

2 pounds zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick (4 zucchini)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup hot milk

3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

3/4 cup grated Gruyere

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a very large (12-inch) saute pan and cook the onions over low heat for 20 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Add the zucchini and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Stir in the flour. Add the hot milk and cook over low heat for a few minutes, until it makes a sauce. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 10-inch baking dish.

Combine the bread crumbs and Gruyere and sprinkle on top of the zucchini mixture. Dot with 1 tablespoon of butter cut into small bits and bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and browned.

MESA GRILLL’S SOUTHWESTERN POTATO SALAD

This is from Bobby Flay of The Food Network’s Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Total Time: 35 min; Prep: 20 min; Cook: 15 min; Yield: 8 servings; Level: Easy

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/mesa-grills-southwestern-potato-salad-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups prepared mayonnaise

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons chipotle pepper puree

1 large ripe tomato, seeded and diced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

3 scallions, chopped, white and green parts

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

16 new potatoes, about 3 to 4 pounds, cooked, drained and sliced 1/2-inch thick

Directions

Combine all the ingredients, except the potatoes, in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place warm potatoes in a large bowl and pour the mixture over potatoes and mix well. Season again with salt and pepper, to taste.

COCONUT LAYER CAKE

This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This impressive and wonderfully moist layer cake is less sweet than the usual coconut affair, thanks to a tangy cream cheese frosting on top and dose of orange juice in the batter. This is a great dessert to make in advance. You can bake the cake layers up to 3 days ahead and store them, well-wrapped in plastic, in the refrigerator. The frosted cake will keep for 2 days in the fridge as well, either under a cake dome or overturned bowl, or loosely tented with foil. Just make sure to bring the cake to room temperature before serving.” Yield: 8 to 12 servings; Time: 2 hours, plus cooling.

This was featured in “A Sugar Rush, Not Crush”, and can be viewed online here.

Also, to find more layer cakes, click here. Also, check out Melissa’s guide, “How to Frost a Cake”.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs, separated, plus 3 whites

1 1/2 cups cream of coconut

1 1/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk

2 tablespoons coconut or dark rum

7 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

3 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

For the Frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups cream cheese, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

7 1/4 cups/2 pounds confectioners’ sugar

2 3/4 cups unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut, toasted

Preparation

Make the Cake:

Grease 3 8-inch cake pans and dust with flour. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and reserve. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add 3 egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl with spatula. Lower speed and gradually add flour mixture. Batter will be thick and pasty.

Whisk together cream of coconut, coconut milk, rum and orange juice. Alternately add shredded coconut and the orange juice mixture to the batter.

In the clean bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 6 egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold into batter.

Divide batter evenly among prepared pans. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes. Cool in pans on wire rack. Unmold cakes once cool.

Make the Frosting:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla extract. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, scraping down sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Mix until combined and fluffy.

Spread 1/4-inch-thick layer of frosting on top of the first layer of cake. Sprinkle with toasted coconut. Place next cake layer on top and repeat with frosting and coconut. Repeat with the third layer, spreading frosting on top and around sides of cake. Hold cake steadily in one hand and use other hand to pat remaining coconut onto edges of cake.

BAKED POTATO CASSEROLE

I'm really not sure where I found this recipe. It's been kicking around my computer for a while. The recipe originally calls for 6 slices turkey bacon, but I've changed that to vegetarian bacon. Of course, you could probably change that to any number of meatless crumbles.

Ingredients:

8 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1 cup Carnation Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk

1/2 cup light sour cream

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups (8 oz. Pkg) shredded 2% cheddar cheese, divided

6 slices vegetarian “bacon”, cooked and crumbled, divided (if using meatless crumbles, use approximately 1/2 cup of the crumbles)

Sliced green onions (optional)

Directions:

Place potatoes in large saucepan. Cover with water, bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease 2 1/2 – to 3-quart casserole dish.

Return potatoes to saucepan, add evaporated milk, sour cream, salt and pepper. Beat with hand-held mixer until smooth. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese and half of bacon. Spoon mixture into prepared casserole dish.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, remaining bacon and green onions. Bake for an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

STRAWBERRY-PEACH COOLER

Yield: 2 servings

Serving size: 1 cup

Source: The Diabetes Snack, Munch, Nibble, Nosh Book

Find this recipe at: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/737.shtml

Ingredients

1 cup dry-pack unsweetened frozen strawberries

2/3 cup dry-pack unsweetened frozen peaches

3/4 cup orange juice

Directions

In a 2-cup measure or similar microwave-safe bowl, combine the strawberries and peaches.

Cover with wax paper, and microwave on high power 45 seconds to 1 minute to thaw the fruit slightly. The fruit should be icy but not hard.

Working with a small knife in the measuring cup, cut each peach slice in half.

Transfer the peaches and strawberries to a blender container.

Add the orange juice. Blend on low power to combine. Then increase power to high and continue to blend until the peaches are completely pureed, at least 1-1/2 minutes.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 105; Protein: 2 g; Sodium: 2 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Dietary Fiber: 3 g; Sugars: 23 g; Carbohydrates: 26 g; Exchanges: 2 Fruit