Saturday, March 17, 2012

Baileys Oreo Truffles Recipe


Happy St. Patrick's Day!
 
In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to share these delicious Baileys Oreo Truffles!  I love Bailey’s Irish Cream.  It is creamy, rich and so easy to sip after dinner.  This liqueur is so versatile and can be enjoyed by itself, or in a mixed drink.  I have also had much success adding Baileys to coffee, hot chocolate, frosting, pudding and cheesecake.

These truffles are just as heavily as I hoped they would be.  The chocolate Oreo’s complemented by the smooth taste of the Baileys, and coated with the crunchy white chocolate makes these little truffles a mouthful of perfection!  Hope you enjoy them!



Baileys Oreo Truffle Recipe
Makes approximately 25

3 cups Oreo crumbs (about 30 Oreo’s)
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup Baileys Irish Cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
White melting chocolate

In a large bowl, mix together Oreo crumbs, powdered sugar, Baileys, and corn syrup.  Once all ingredients incorporated together, place into the refrigerator to allow the mixture to set up.  This will take about 30 minutes.  

Once the mixture has firmed, roll 1 tablespoon of mixture into a ball.  Place all the truffles on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Again, place the truffles back in the refrigerator for another 25-30 minutes to allow the truffles to firm up and not fall apart in the warm chocolate. 

Melt the white chocolate and dip each truffle to fully coat.  Place back on the parchment paper to allow the chocolate to harden. 

Friday, March 9, 2012

Spinach Pie Recipe



Ever since I was little, spinach has been one of my favorite vegetables.  Yes, it is a strange vegetable for a child to enjoy eating, but for some reason I loved it.  I guess Popeye had a big influence on me.  I love finding new recipes to enjoy my favorite leafy green vegetable.  When reading through my beloved Ina Garten cook books, I came across her spinach pie recipe.  Of course, this page had a few tags on it for me to remember to make this recipe.  Well friends, the day finally came and let’s just say it was heavenly. 


The flakey phyllo dough surrounding the pie is light and buttery.  The inside of the pie contains the spinach accented by nutmeg, crunchy pignoli nuts, and salty feta cheese.  The combination of flavors is amazing, and I wouldn’t expect anything less from Ina Garten.

Spinach Pie Recipe
Recipe from Ina Garten
Serves 8

3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
6 extra-large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons grated nutmeg
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs
1/2 pound good feta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
1/4 pound salted butter, melted
6 sheets phyllo dough, defrosted

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium sauté pan on medium heat, sauté the onions with the olive oil until translucent and slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the salt and pepper and allow to cool slightly.

Squeeze out and discard as much of the liquid from the spinach as possible. Put the spinach into a bowl and then gently mix in the onions, eggs, nutmeg, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, feta, and pignoli.

Butter a 8-inch pie pan and line it with 6 stacked sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with melted butter and letting the edges hang over the pan. Pour the spinach mixture into the middle of the phyllo and neatly fold the edges up and over the top to seal in the filling. Brush the top well with melted butter.

Bake for 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and the filling is set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Quinoa Salad Recipe


This quinoa salad was created a few months back when Bill and I competed in our “Chopped Challenge.”   Quinoa was one of Bill’s secret ingredients and he came up with this excellent side dish that we have made a staple in our recipe box.  Quinoa is an excellent source of protein, essential amino acids, fiber, and iron. 



This quinoa salad has crunchy almonds, sweet dried cranberries and tender asparagus accented by sesame oil.  This flavor combination that Bill came up with goes wonderful as a side dish with fish, chicken or beef.  You could also have it by itself for lunch or a snack.  We have only had this salad warm, but I will definitely serve it cold this summer at a BBQ.

Quinoa Salad Recipe

1/2 cup whole almonds
1 cup quinoa
2 cup chicken stock
1cup chopped asparagus, 1/2 inch size pieces
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon sesame oil

In a small pan, toast the almonds.  Be sure to keep an eye on these as they can burn quickly

In a small sauce pan, combine chicken stock and quinoa.  Bring the mixture to a boil, cover with a lid and turn down the heat to a simmer for 15 minutes.  Once cooked, fluff the quinoa with a fork.

While the quinoa is cooking, steam chopped asparagus for 10-15 minutes until tender. 

In a large serving bowl, combine quinoa, toasted almonds, cranberries, asparagus and sesame oil.  Serve warm or cold and enjoy!

Tips:
1)      Quinoa doesn’t have much flavor, so we prefer to cook it in chicken stock.  If you want to keep this vegetarian, it would be excellent in vegetable stock.
2)      We have used green beans instead of asparagus for this recipe too!
3)      Serve this warm or cold.
4)      If you prefer, you can chop the almonds once they are toasted.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

French Onion Soup Recipe



French onion soup is delicious, simple to make and comforting.  You can’t ask for much more in a meal.  The soft, sweet, caramelized onions in a savory beef broth topped with melted gruyere cheese and toast provides your taste buds with numerous textures and flavors.  This is one of my favorite soups.



I made this soup for my husband for Valentine’s Day, hence the heart shaped toast.  :)


French Onion Soup Recipe
Adapted from Ina Garten

2 1/2 pounds yellow onions, halved, and sliced 1/4-inch thick (8 cups)
1/4 pound unsalted butter
1 bay leaf
3/4  cup medium-dry sherry
1 1/2 cups good dry white wine
6 cups beef stock
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
6 slices of bread
2 cups shredded gruyere cheese


In a large stockpot on medium-high heat, sauté the onions with the butter and bay leaf for 20 minutes, until the  onions turn a rich golden brown color.  Deglaze the pan with the sherry and brandy and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer uncovered for 15 more minutes.


Add the beef and vegetable stocks plus salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, taste for salt and pepper. 


When ready to serve, preheat oven to 425o F.  Place bread in a single layer on a cookie sheet and evenly sprinkle gruyere cheese.  Place in the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.  Please one piece of toast on top of each bowl of soup. 


Tips:

1)      This soup freezes great for future meals
2)      This soup can be made vegetarian by using only vegetable stock.
3)      This soup is wonderful topped with the bread and cheese, but if you want to cut that out of the recipe, it will be just as delicious.
4)      If you have soup bowls that are oven safe, you can scope your soup in the bowl, top with the bread and cheese and place under the oven broiler to melt the cheese. 

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