Recipes

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Italian Fried Potatoes

Italian Fried Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 2 Medium Potatoes, peeled and cubed

  • 2 tbsp olive oil

  • 1 Medium Onion, chopped

  • 1 Medium Green Pepper, chopped

  • 1 Medium Red Pepper, chopped

  • 2 Garlic cloves, finely minced

  • To Taste Salt Pepper

  • 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley, finely chopped

Directions

  • Boil or microwave potatoes until fork tender. Drain and set aside.
  • Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan or a cast iron skillet. Add onions, peppers and cook on medium flame for 5~6 minutes.
  • Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
  • Next add the boiled potatoes and cook stirring, occasionally until the potatoes are slightly roasted, about 4~6 minutes.
  • Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle fresh parsley and serve.

Notes

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Jelly Donuts

Jelly Donuts

Ingredients

  • 1 cup warm water, heated to about 110°F (see note)

  • 1 tablespoon instant/rapid-rise or active dry yeast (note that this is more than 1 packet)

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off

  • ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for coating

  • ¾ teaspoon salt

  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

  • 2 large egg yolks

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus about 2 quarts more for frying

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • About 1 cup jam or jelly (or custard, Nutella, pudding, pumpkin butter, apple butter, dulce de leche, etc.), optional

Directions

  • Combine the water and yeast in a small bowl and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk to combine and set aside.
  • Add the egg yolks, 2 tablespoons of oil, and vanilla to the water/yeast mixture and whisk with a fork until combined.
  • Add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture and stir with rubber spatula until the dough comes together. It should be a bit sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap (no need to clean it first) and let the dough rise on the countertop until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
  • Line a baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels. Line another baking sheet with ­parchment paper and dust heavily with flour. Generously dust a clean countertop and your hands with flour. Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the counter and dust the dough with flour. Pat the dough into ¼-in-thick rectangle (it should be about 10 x 12-inches in size), making sure the bottom doesn’t stick and adding more flour to the counter and your hands as needed. Using a pizza wheel or very sharp knife, cut the dough into 24 two-inch squares and transfer to the floured baking sheet, leaving a little space between the squares. Sprinkle the squares lightly with flour.
  • Add enough of oil to a large Dutch oven or heavy pot to measure about 2 inches deep and heat over medium heat to 350°F. (If you don’t have a candy/deep-fry thermometer, drop a 1-in cube of bread in the oil; if it takes about 1 minute to get golden brown, the oil is at the right temperature.) Place 6 dough pieces in the oil and fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes, flipping halfway through frying. Adjust the heat, if necessary, to maintain the oil temperature between 325°F and 350°F. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the donuts to the paper towel-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining donuts.
  • When the donuts are cool enough to handle, use a paring knife to puncture the side of each to form a pocket in the center. Place the tip of a squeeze bottle or piping bag into the pocket and squeeze 1 to 2 teaspoons of jam or jelly inside. (Alternatively, if you don’t have the right tools or just don’t want to bother, serve the filling on the side.)
  • Using a fine sieve, dust the donuts generously with confectioners’ sugar. Serve warm.

Notes

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Bananas Foster Waffles

Bananas Foster Waffles

Ingredients

  • Waffles

  • 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 3 large eggs

  • 4 to 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (the more butter, the crisper the waffle)

  • 1 1/2 cups almond milk

  • Bananas Foster Topping

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

  • 2 tablespoons water

  • 2 under ripe bananas, sliced in half lengthwise

  • 1/4 cup dark rum

Directions

  • Waffles
  • Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
  • In a smaller bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter and milk.
  • Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients for the wet ingredients and whisk together until just combined.
  • Brush the waffle maker with a bit of extra melted butter and fill according to waffle maker’s instructions. Bake until golden.
  • Bananas Foster Topping
  • Melt butter in a heavy skillet over low heat. Add brown sugar, allspice, nutmeg and water and stir until sugar dissolves. Bring sauce to simmer.
  • Add bananas and cook for 1 minute on each side. Remove bananas from pan to a serving dish.
  • Bring sauce to a simmer and carefully add the rum. If the sauce is very hot, the alcohol will flame on its own. If not, using stick flame, carefully ignite and continue cooking until flame dies out, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. If sauce is too thin, cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it is syrupy in consistency.
  • Immediately spoon the sauce over bananas and serve. Serve with waffles.
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English Toffee

English Toffee

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter (salted) DO NOT USE MARGARINE

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

  • pinch salt

  • 1 cup almonds

  • 1 cup chocolate chips or melting chocolate

Directions

  • Line a baking sheet with foil. If you’d like to have nuts in your toffee, toss a handful of almonds onto the baking sheet. Set aside.
  • Heat all of your ingredients (except for the nuts and chocolate) in a nice sturdy saucepan on med heat until butter is melted. Turn temp up to medium high and stir constantly until mixture comes to a boil.
  • Set your timer for 5 minutes and DO NOT let ANYTHING disturb you while you stir. You must keep stirring your butter/sugar mixture so that it does not burn. And you must use a WOODEN spoon.
  • Keep stirring until your timer goes off. It may even smoke a tiny bit and that is ok. If you are really concerned, lift the pan off of the burner (while you are still stirring) to remove it from the heat, but still stir until your timer goes off.
  • Immediately pour hot toffee onto your foil-lined baking sheet. If you added nuts to your baking sheet, pour the toffee over the nuts.
  • The toffee will be about 1/4-1/2″ thick. Do not scrape the bottom of the pan. As you pour, the bottom will brown and you don’t want that in your toffee.
  • Fill your pan with hot water and set it aside. It will start dissolving the toffee left inside and make it easier to clean.
  • Let cool. It should harden within a couple of minutes.
  • Melt Ghirardelli bricks or wafers, Wilton melting chocolate, chocolate chips, or any other variety of melting chocolate in the microwave at 30-second intervals until smooth.
  • Spread across your toffee with a small spatula or butter knife. I use about 2 Ghirardelli bricks per batch. If you melt too much that’s ok, it will harden again and you can just microwave it again another time for another use.
  • Sprinkle with sliced almonds, if desired, while the chocolate is still soft. After it has set up, break toffee into pieces.

Notes

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Biscochitos

Biscochitos

Ingredients

  • Dough

  • 3 cups all purpose flour

  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • 3 teaspoons crushed anise seed

  • zest of one orange

  • 1 ¼ cups lard (I’m using vegetable shortening which is NOT traditional but I can’t have lard)

  • ¾ cup sugar

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • Topping

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

  • In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in the crushed anise and orange zest.
  • In a separate large bowl, combine the sugar and lard. Then, using an electric mixer, beat the lard and sugar until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually beat in the flour mixture and stop as soon as mixture is combined. Dough will be crumbly and more like a pie crust dough and than a normal cookie dough (see picture in post above).
  • Using your hands, work the dough into a ball, like you would a pie crust, incorporating all the loose pieces of flour mixture. Then, wrap in plastic and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for topping.
  • Take the chilled dough and separate it into 3 balls, roughly the same size. Take one dough ball at a time and work it in your hands, kneading it until it is soft and smooth. If it feels crumbly when you try to roll it out, just knead it a little more until it comes together – the lard needs a little extra help. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut out cookies (I cut them into diamonds).
  • Place cookies on lined baking sheet and bake until just barely golden and set, about 10 to 12 minutes (be careful not to over cook!). Let cookies cool for 10 minutes on the pan (they will crumble if you take them off any sooner). While they are on the pan, sprinkled them with some cinnamon and sugar on top. When they’ve cooled for 10 minutes, you can then carefully dunk them into the sugar mixture. Place on cookie rack until completely cooled.

Notes

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Midnight Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Midnight Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients

  • 4 oz. unsalted butter, softened

  • 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-process (or onyx for super dark cookies)

  • generous pinch of sea salt

  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (I prefer chunks)

Directions

  • Cream the butter, sugar, and cocoa together until smooth. Beat in the salt and vanilla. Mix in the flour until just incorporated. Fold the chocolate chips or chocolate chunks into the dough. Turn the cookie dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper. Press the dough together and form an 8-inch long cylinder. Wrap the log of dough in the plastic or wax paper and refrigerate for at least an hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 325°F. Cut the log into 1/3-inch thick slices. Arrange the slices on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with at least an inch between cookies.
  • Bake for 12-15 minutes until the center is slightly soft (take care not to overbake). Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 4-5 minutes (or else they will fall apart if you try to move them too soon). Transfer to a cooling rack. Makes 2 dozen.

Notes

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Pork Lettuce Wraps

Pork Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp. canola oil

  • 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh ginger

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 lb. ground pork

  • 1/4 c. hoisin sauce, plus more for serving if desired

  • 1 Tbsp. sriracha

  • 1 head romaine, leaves separated

  • 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks

  • 2 scallions, sliced

  • 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Directions

  • In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, 2 minutes. Add ground pork and cook until no longer pink, 5 minutes. Add hoisin sauce and Sriracha and stir until combined.
  • Spoon pork into lettuce leaves and sprinkle with carrots, scallions, and sesame seeds and drizzle with Sriracha. Serve with extra hoisin, if desired.

Notes

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Za’atar Pita Chips

Za’atar Pita Chips

Ingredients

  • 6 pocket-less pita flatbreads or naan bread cut into 8 wedges

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons za’atar seasoning

  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Toss pita triangles with olive oil and za’atar seasoning.
  • Arrange the pita triangles among two rimmed sheet pans in an even layer and bake for 10-15 minutes, rotating the pan halfway. No need to flip the pita triangles.
  • Bake until golden and crispy.
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Whiskey & Rye Cookies

Whiskey & Rye Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups chocolate wafers (discs, pistoles, fèves; preferably 72% cacao), divided

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • ½ cup rye flour

  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

  • 1½ teaspoons kosher salt

  • ¾ cup (1½ sticks) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

  • ¾ cup dark brown sugar

  • ¾ cup granulated sugar

  • 1 large egg

  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla paste

  • 1 teaspoon bourbon

  • 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

  • 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Directions

  • Pulse ¾ cup chocolate wafers in a food processor until pea-sized pieces form. Whisk all-purpose flour, rye flour, baking soda, and kosher salt in a medium bowl.
  • Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until light and fluffy, 3–4 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, and bourbon and beat until fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and slowly add dry ingredients, mixing just to blend. Fold in chopped chocolate and remaining chocolate wafers.
  • Portion dough into 16 balls (about ¼ cup each) and transfer to a rimmed sheet sheet as you go. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and chill at least 3 hours or up to 1 day.
  • Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°. Scrape vanilla seeds into sea salt in a small bowl and mix to combine (save pod for another use).
  • Divide dough balls between 2 parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 3″ apart. Flatten each ball to about ¾” thick and sprinkle with vanilla salt. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown around the edges, 14–18 minutes (cookies will firm up as they cool). Let cool slightly on baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks and let cool completely.