Category: Laurie Lufkin Cooking

Going to a party tonight? Bring these! Creamy Mushroom Marsala Bites

Posted on by laurielufkin

I made this recipe up because I love chicken Marsala and wanted to get the same flavors in an appetizer-but without the chicken.  I have entered this recipe into a contest on http://www.mixingbowl.com and if you want to go and vote for my recipe, please go right ahead.  You can vote daily until the end of the year.  You do have to be a Mixing Bowl member so if you feel like signing up to a great recipe site, go right ahead!  I highly recommend the site as a great resource for all types of recipes.

*if you don’t have shallots in the house, use onions or leeks, no proscuitto in the house, use bacon or finely chopped ham.  If no cottage cheese, use sour cream.  If no heavy cream, use half and half or whatever you have.  If you don’t have the pastry shells, make crostini with a little olive oil and salt and serve the mushroom mix on top–put them under the broiler for a few minutes and you are all set!

Servings:         6

Prep time:       20 minutes

Cook time:      5 minutes

Total time:       30 minutes

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 oz. proscuitto, finely chopped
4 oz sliced button mushrooms, roughly chopped
4 oz. sliced baby Portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped
30 mini phyllo shells
1/3 cup Marsala wine
¼ cup heavy cream
1/3 cup cottage cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped, plus more for garnish (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter. Add shallots and saute until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add chopped proscuitto and brown slightly, about 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add chopped mushrooms and toss with butter mixture. Reduce heat to medium and cook until mixture is nearly dry, about 10-12 minutes.

In the meantime, place phyllo shells on a baking sheet and bake 3-5 minutes until crisp. Remove from oven set aside.

Add the Marsala to the mushrooms, stir and cook again until pan is again dry. Add heavy cream and cottage cheese and cook again until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove mixture from heat and stir in chopped chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste

Fill shells with a scant tablespoon of mushroom mixture. Top with a fresh chive segment if desired and serve immediately. Mixture also keeps tightly covered in the refrigerator for a week. Simply fill phyllo with mushroom mixture and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until heated through. Enjoy!

And here is the direct link so you can vote if you want to:

http://www.mixingbowl.com/message/recipe/view.castle?g=1222768&m=7966710

Last Minute Recipe Idea: Recipe Video of Good Morning Gloucester Holiday Cookie Contest Winner – Laurel Tarantino Snowball Cookies

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

This cookie recipe melts in your mouth and is easy to do. Laurel Tarantino entered her cookies called Snowballs in the first annual cookie contest that was organized by Laurie Lufkin. The contest was designed to find the best cookies around and support the Open Door Food Pantry this holiday season. The video features Laurie showing you with step-by-step instructions how you can make these yourself. These prize winners impressed the judges in all categories – including taste, appeal, appearance and overall appeal – so they are worth checking out.

You can see the video at http://food.gloucestertimes.com. Here is a short segment-

Inspired Cooking Beauport Vodka Salmon Video Part II With Bobby Ryan

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Another easy Appetizer Recipe for Christmas and New Years!

Posted on by laurielufkin

Here is re-post of the vodka cured salmon recipe because it is so easy to make and delicious that I figured might be nice to make for the holidays.  If you have any questions, as always, please don’t hesitate to comment on this post and I will answer you.

My sister Kate Lufkin and I had a tour which took us through the entire process from the raw ingredients to how they do the small batch bottling by hand.   When the tour was over Kate made some excellent cocktails and I made the recipe below–Vodka cured salmon with lemon mustard sauce.  I hope you enjoy it!

You can easily increase the amount of salmon by two or three times to feed a large crowd and if well wrapped, this cured fish keeps for weeks under refrigeration.  The sauce is excellent with all kinds of fish and shellfish and also works well with chicken or a sandwich spread so make lots!

Beauport Vodka Cured Salmon with Mustard Lemon Sauce

¾ pound skin on salmon fillet

1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
¼ cup chopped fresh dill
¼ cup Beauport Vodka

Rinse and pat dry salmon.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine lemon zest, one tablespoon lemon juice, salt, sugar chopped dill and vodka.  Stir to combine.

On a flat plate, layer 3 sheets of plastic wrap overlapping each other.  Place salmon, skin side down on the middle of the wrap.  Pour mixture on top of salmon flesh and tightly wrap.  Use more plastic wrap around salmon if necessary to keep liquid in.  Place on a flat plate and balance another plate on top of salmon and weight plate with something heavy, like a pound of butter for example.

Store salmon in fridge overnight or for at least 18 hours.  When ready to serve, remove wrap and rinse off dill mixture.  Pat salmon dry and thinly slice with the grain of the fish.  Serve on crostini, thinly sliced bread or with eggs (excellent!) and bagels, topping with the lemon mustard sauce  (recipe follows) as desired.

Mustard Lemon Sauce

¼ cup horseradish mustard (or any flavor you like)
¼ cup good mayonnaise
2 teaspoons shallot, finely chopped
1 tablespoons lemon juice (or more to taste)
Salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Inspired Cooking airs on Cape Ann TV on Tuesday nights at 8:30, Friday afternoons at 4:30 and Sundays at 11:30 AM.  I hope you will tune in!

Inspired Cooking Beauport Vodka Salmon Video Part I With Bobby Ryan

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Part I Click pic to play

Part II at 8PM tonight

Need a party appetizer for Christmas? Try Creamy Mushroom Marsala Bites

Posted on by laurielufkin

I made this recipe up because I love chicken Marsala and wanted to get the same flavors in an appetizer-but without the chicken.  I have entered this recipe into a contest on http://www.mixingbowl.com and if you want to go and vote for my recipe, please go right ahead.  You can vote daily until the end of the year.  You do have to be a Mixing Bowl member so if you feel like signing up to a great recipe site, go right ahead!  I highly recommend the site as a great resource for all types of recipes.  And if you make these, please let me know what you think.

These gorgeous little bites are a hit at parties–but be sure to eat them in one bite or you will have a mess on your hands–literally!

Servings:         6

Prep time:       20 minutes

Cook time:      5 minutes

Total time:       30 minutes

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 oz. proscuitto, finely chopped
4 oz sliced button mushrooms, roughly chopped
4 oz. sliced baby Portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped
30 mini phyllo shells
1/3 cup Marsala wine
¼ cup heavy cream
1/3 cup cottage cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped, plus more for garnish (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter. Add shallots and saute until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Add chopped proscuitto and brown slightly, about 3-5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add chopped mushrooms and toss with butter mixture. Reduce heat to medium and cook until mixture is nearly dry, about 10-12 minutes.

In the meantime, place phyllo shells on a baking sheet and bake 3-5 minutes until crisp. Remove from oven set aside.

Add the Marsala to the mushrooms, stir and cook again until pan is again dry. Add heavy cream and cottage cheese and cook again until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove mixture from heat and stir in chopped chives. Season with salt and pepper to taste

Fill shells with a scant tablespoon of mushroom mixture. Top with a fresh chive segment if desired and serve immediately. Mixture also keeps tightly covered in the refrigerator for a week. Simply fill phyllo with mushroom mixture and bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until heated through. Enjoy!

And here is the direct link so you can vote if you want to:

http://www.mixingbowl.com/message/recipe/view.castle?g=1222768&m=7966710

Laurie Lufkin’s Inspired Cooking With Turtle Alley Proprietor Hallie Baker

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Cooking Native Shrimp Recipes with Steve Parkes

Posted on by laurielufkin

The native shrimp are here, and boy are they delicious!

So, last Wednesday Steve Parkes came to the studio (aka my kitchen) to cook some recipes that used native shrimp.  The shrimp are  sweet, like candy almost–and then I used them in two recipes, Cape Ann Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo and my Festive Shrimp and Spinach Braid.  Steve is from the Cape Ann Catch Share/Gloucester Fisherman’s Wives and is an expert in matters of seafood and was so much fun to cook with that I hope he joins me on Inspired Cooking again soon. Thank You Steve!

Here are the recipes for this week’s show which airs tonight at 8:30, Friday at 4:30 and Sundays at 11:30 on Cape Ann TV, Channel 12.

This week, I also had the good sense to take some photos while I was trying out the recipes getting ready to tape the show the night before so there are some step by step pictures of what everything is supposed to look like while it is being prepared.  I will try to do this more often as I think it will be helpful.

Festive Native Shrimp and Spinach Braid:

  • 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet or Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
  • 1 box (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
  • 1 /2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes in oil, well drained
  • 1/2 cup crumbled goat (chèvre) cheese
  • 3/4 cup shelled native shrimp
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • salt & pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll dough. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  On a lightly floured surface, rolll out doug to a 12×9-inch rectangle and if using the crescents, pinch together perforations.

With scissors or sharp knife, make diagonal cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough rectangle.

Spread spinach in a 3-inch wide strip lengthwise down the center of dough leaving 1-inch edge on both ends. Season with garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.  Layer tomatoes over the spinach and crumbled cheese over the tomatoes.  Top with the shrimp and season with more salt and pepper.

Alternately cross strips diagonally over filling. Turn ends of braid up and press to seal. In small bowl, beat egg with water. Brush over top of braid

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. To serve, cut into slices

This is so excellent and the shrimp add such a nice sweet element to this appetier.  Make this and take it to a party this weekend–they will think you are a genius!

And for the next recipe I am taking a little help from Emeril Lagasse (I followed parts of his recipe) because I don’t think he will mind as he and my Lily are big friends, as you can see by this photo:

Cape Ann Native Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

¾ cup light brown roux, see how to make a roux, recipe follows
1 ½ cup diced onions
3/4 cup diced celery
¾ cup diced green bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
6 cups shrimp or chicken stock
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced into ¼ rounds and quartered (no andouille to found on Cape Ann last week so I used linguica)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3-4 cups cleaned native shrimp
1 teaspoon creole seasoning
3 tablespoons cup green onion tops, chopped
1 tablespoons dried parsley
1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/3 cup green onion tops, chopped
Steamed White Rice for serving

Brown the sausage in a large Dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium high heat.  With a slotted spoon, remove sausage and set aside.  Add the roux to the pan.  When hot, add the onions, celery and bell pepper. Stir mixture until onions begin to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute.

Slowly pour in stock, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Add the browned sausage, bay leaves, hot sauce, cayenne (optional), salt, and pepper.
Bring gumbo to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until gumbo is slightly reduced, about 50 minutes.


Season the shrimp with the Creole seasoning in a small bowl. Stir in the seasoned shrimp, parsley, thyme and basil. Cook until shrimp are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Serve in warmed soup bowls over steamed white rice and top with chopped green onions.

How to Roux:
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Place a heavy, iron Dutch oven, (or iron skillet with deep sides) over medium heat and heat the oil until just smoking. Whisk in flour, a little at a time and cook, whisking constantly, until roux becomes smooth and thick. Continue to cook, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon and reaching all over bottom of pan, until roux darkens to desired color. Be careful not to produce specs of black. The roux must remain an even color throughout process. If specs appear you must start over.

For a Light Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for 1 1/2 hours, or until the color of peanut butter.

For a Medium Brown Roux, cook the mixture, over medium heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the color of a copper penny when ready.

For a Dark Brown Roux, cook the mixture an additional 35 to 45 minutes. The color should resemble dark chocolate when ready.
.
Yield: about 2 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1-2 hours

NOTE: The timings for various shades of roux will vary depending on the cooktop as well as the amount of roux made. (A smaller amount will cook in much less time.) If this is your first time making a roux, the slower you cook it, the less likely you will be to burn it. The important thing is to cook the roux to the desired color, as specified above.

As always,  feel free to respond to this post if you have any questions.   Thanks!

Pumpkin Desserts! Not just for the holidays………great any day!

Posted on by laurielufkin

Sorry for the late post to any of you that tuned in last night to Cape Ann TV at 8:30 and wanted to print out the recipes for the show–I got all involved (or “drove up” as my Father would say) with making GUMBO with native shrimp and it is not a quick process!  More on that in another show/post–trust me–it came out YUMMY!

Here are the recipes for the show–one really good for you and so delicious at the same time that no one will ever know they are practically eating “health food” and the other decadent spicy and delicious and perfect for gift giving!  Enjoy and as always, if you have any questions, ask away by replying to this post.

My show, Inspired Cooking, airs on Cape Ann TV (and now in Danvers and Peabody so tell your friends to look for it on their local station) Tuesdays at 8:30, Fridays at 4:30 and Sundays at 11:30 in the morning.

Toasted Oatmeal Cinnamon Pumpkin Bars

For the bars:

2 cups white whole wheat flour (this is a King Arthur product-use ½ white and ½ whole wheat if you can’t find it but they do sell it at all grocery stores locally)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup softened butter
1/3 cup Splenda Brown Sugar (use 2/3 cup brown sugar if you do not want to use Splenda)
2 large eggs
3 cups pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup canola oil
1/3 cup cinnamon or butterscotch baking chips

For the toasted oatmeal topping:

1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick foil or spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt and baking soda and set aside.

In a large bowl with mixer on high speed, cream ½ cup butter and Splenda brown sugar until light and fluffy Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.  Beat in pumpkin puree, vanilla and canola oil until combined.  Reduce mixer speed to low and incorporate flour and cinnamon chips until just combined.

Spread batter in to prepared pan and smooth with a knife.

In a large bowl, whisk together oats, melted butter, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.  Sprinkle over batter and bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until tester inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean.

Allow to cool before cutting into 28 bars.  If you are Weight Watcher, these bars, using the Splenda and the white whole wheat flour, have 2.5 points each.  My WW leader friend Jill provided this info for you–thanks Jill!

Ginger Crusted Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Spiced Walnut Topping:

First–let’s candy the nuts.  Like I said on the show “gift alert!  gift alert!”  You can make these in large batches by doubling the recipe and putting them in decorative jars or bags for gift giving.

3 cups walnuts (use whatever nuts you like)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon (add some ginger, nutmeg, whatever you like)

3 tablespoons granulated or brown sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

In a large bowl, toss nuts with egg whites to coat.  Sprinkle sugar, cinnamon and salt over coated nuts and stir to coat.

Pour nuts on to prepared baking sheet and spread in to a single later.  Bake for 20 minutes, tossing once at 10 minutes.  Cool completely before using. Set aside.  Roughly chop about 1 1/2 cups to top the pumpkin bars. You will have plenty for the topping for the bars and to snack on.

For the crust:

5 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (just beat the heck out of them with a rolling pin in a plastic bag if you don’t have a food processor)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

7 tablespoons salted butter, melted

For the filling:

2-8 oz packages cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 15 oz can solid pack pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

5 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch of cloves (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees.  Line a 9 x 13 inch baking dish (I use glass) with nonstick foil or parchment paper, using enough foil or paper on the long edges to create an overhand that will help you lift the bars of out the pan when it is time to cut them.   Set aside.

In the food processor or by hand combine crumbs, sugar and melted butter.  Press mixture into prepared pan to form a crust.  Bake 10 -12 minutes until firm and fragrant.  Remove from oven and set aside.

In the meantime, prepare the filling.  In the food processor or in a large bowl with a hand mixer combine cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.  Pulse or beat to combine.

Pour pumpkin cream cheese mixture over par-baked crust, sprinkle 1 1/2 cup nuts over the top and bake for 40-50 minutes  until center is set but jiggles slightly when the pan is gently shaken.

Allow to cool completely before cutting, at least two hours.  Lift out bars and cut with a knife dipped in water (as you would a cheesecake) into 32 bars.  Enjoy!

RESULTS FROM THE COOKIE CONTEST and the 1ST PLACE WINNERS IN BOTH CATEGORIES

Posted on by laurielufkin


LAUREL TARANTINO’S “SNOW BALL COOKIES” IN THE ADULT CATEGORY


AND MIKAYLA & FRANK CIOLINO’S “CHRISTMAS COOKIES” IN THE

YOUTH/FAMILY CATEGORY

thank you Thom Flazarano for these photos!

HERE ARE THE RECIPES AS WRITTEN BY THE CONTESTANTS:

First, Laura Tarantino’s Snowball Cookies:

1 cup butter (softened)

1 cup confectioners’ sugar (sift it, but you don’t have to)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup fine chopped walnuts (I use a rolling pin to really mush them up)

Mix butter, sugar and vanilla.

Sift flour and salt together.  Blend into butter mixture.  Add walnuts, mix thoroughly.  Chill for a while, at least for a 1/2 hour.

DOUGH WILL SEEM ON THE VERGE OF BEING TOO FLAKY.  I GIVE IT A GOOD SQUEEZE WHEN ROLLING THEM.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Start rolling snowballs and put on an ungreased baking sheet.  Cookies do not spread so you can fit lot on one sheet.

Bake about 10 to 14 minutes, you just want them to cook through without turning brown.

While they are still warm, not hot, roll them in confectioners’ sugar.  Do not stack them on top of one another.  When completely cool, roll in sugar again, now you can stack them.

They are ready to melt in your mouth!   Makes approximately 3 dozen. Enjoy!

This is Thom’s photo of the happy winner when she heard the results–look at her supporters in the background!

And here are Mikayla’s Christmas Cookies:

4 eggs

1 tablespoon of vanilla

5 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

5 teaspoons baking powder

5 heaping tablespoons shortening

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl beat eggs and vanilla.  Set aside.  In a larger bowl, mix dry ingredients.  Slowly mix shortening into dry ingredients using hands.  Dough will be crumbly.  Add egg mixture and continue to mix with hands.  Slowly add milk until dough forms a large ball (only add as much milk as neede to form the dough ball).

Roll out dough and cut into shapes, or make small balls which can be formed into a braid or wreath.  Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Let cool then frost.

Frosting:

1 pound confectioners’ sugar

1/4 cup milk (approx.)

Place sugar in a bowl and slowly add milk until the mixture forms a frosting.  Only enough milk as needed to form frosting.  Decorate as desired.

I will post the second and third place winner tomorrow and also my very long list of thank yous to everyone who made this great event possible.  And not to be overlooked but we raised some money and lots of food for The Open Door!  More on that tomorrow!

I will be making Mikayla’s cookies at some point in the near future and will post the photo.,

Executive Chef John Savastano A Judge From The GMG Holiday Cookie Contest Interview

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Roll Call- Who Is Planning On Entering The GMG Holiday Cookie Contest?

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

I know that Paulie Frontiero is going to have an entry as well as Frank Ciolino and daughter Mikayla.

There is the team of my mom and The Bean.

Snoop Maddie Mad, sister Tee Tee, and niece Amandacakes.

Brenda

Who else is planning on bringing their best?

Don’t forget to follow the rules laid out by Laurie- you can find them here

When:  Thursday, December 3rd.  Entry turn in 4-5:30 pm, judging begins at 6:00.  No prior registration necessary
Where:  Browns Mall, 186 Main Street, Gloucester
Why:  Because we want to find the best cookies around, support the Open Door Food Pantry this holiday season and have fun with food at the same time in a contest that doesn’t involve giant burgers or fiery foods for a change.
Entry fee: $5.00 and two non perishable food items to be donated to the Open Door.

Your entries will be judged on the following criteria by qualified food professionals and local notables, all with excellent taste buds:

Taste 40%

Appearance (of cookies and overall presentation) 20%

Texture 20%

Overall Appeal of cookies 20%

Prizes will be awarded as follows:
1st place, individual entry
2nd place, individual entry
3rd place, individual entry

One 1st place prize for a youth/family entry.

The prizes will be fabulous and available for viewing when you drop off your entry–trust us on this one!

And now, the particulars:

You many decorate and garnish your entries with holiday flair as desired, 12 cookies per plate please.
You may enter as many different cookie submissions as you wish but you must pay an additional $5.00 and two more non perishable food items for the Open Door per entry.
No professional bakers/chefs allowed to enter please.
No mixes allowed.  All entries must be from scratch.
Three legible copies of recipe must accompany all entries. Please include name, address and telephone number on the back of each sheet.  These become the property of www.goodmorningloucester.com and may be reproduced.  If your recipe is not original (your personal creation), please attribute its origin.
Judging will begin promptly at 6:00 and will conclude when all entries have been judged.
You do not have to be present for announcement of the winners, but it will be more fun if you are.
The decisions of the judges are final.
Any unclaimed cookie entries will be packaged and donated to the Open Door the night of the event.

One more time…I won’t ask again! The voting ends tomorrow at noon!

Posted on by laurielufkin

I entered the Pillsbury Monthly Recipe contest and the theme this month was appetizers.  My recipe Tuscan Splendor Spinach Braid was chosen out of hundreds of recipes as one of the top ten finalists vying for $2500.00.  Plus, you can copy the recipe–it is simple and delicious!

Would you please vote for my recipe tonight or tomorrow.  You can vote once every 24 hours so either tonight or tomorrow before noon is your last opportunity to help me.  I could win $2500.00 for me and Lily!  You do have to register to vote on the Pillsbury site but you do not have to select to receive emails from them.  It only takes about two minutes to sign up.

Please help me….$2500.00 will buy a lot of ingredients if I win!

Here is the link to vote: https://generalmills.promo.eprize.com/bakeoff/?WT.ac=HP_Left_Feature_Picture_MonthlyChallenge

*if for some reason the link does not work, go to http://www.pillsbury.com and click on the lower left corner of the page, the Monthly Challenge

Here is the recipe and a (lousy scanned) photo:

And here’s how to make it-so simple and delicious with only a few ingredients:

INGREDIENTS
1        can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated
seamless dough sheet
1/3    cup refrigerated black olive tapénade (from 7 oz container)
1        box (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1/2    cup crumbled goat (chèvre) cheese
3/4    cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes in oil, well drained
1        egg
1        teaspoon water

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll dough. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press into 12×9-inch rectangle.

2. Spread tapénade in 3-inch wide strip lengthwise down the center of dough leaving 1-inch edge on both ends. Layer spinach evenly over the tapénade. Top with cheese then layer with tomatoes.

3. With scissors or sharp knife, make diagonal cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough rectangle to within 1/2 inch of filling. Alternately cross strips diagonally over filling. Turn ends of braid up and press to seal. In small bowl, beat egg with water. Brush over top of braid.

4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. To serve, cut into slices.

Thank you all for your support and votes!

My turn to ask for help–$2500.00 will by a lot of ingredients!

Posted on by laurielufkin

I entered the Pillsbury Monthly Recipe contest and the theme this month was appetizers.  My recipe Tuscan Splendor Spinach Braid was chosen out of hundreds of recipes as one of the top ten finalists vying for $2500.00.

Would you please vote for my recipe every day until December 1st—yes,  three days from now–and I could win $2500.00 for me and Lily!  You do have to register to vote on the Pillsbury site but you do not have to select to receive emails from them.  It only takes about two minutes to sign up to vote and then you can vote daily for the three days.

Please help me….$2500.00 will buy a lot of ingredients if I win!

Here is the link to vote: https://generalmills.promo.eprize.com/bakeoff/?WT.ac=HP_Left_Feature_Picture_MonthlyChallenge

Here is the recipe and a (lousy scanned) photo:

And here’s how to make it-so simple and delicious with only a few ingredients:

INGREDIENTS
1        can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated
seamless dough sheet
1/3    cup refrigerated black olive tapénade (from 7 oz container)
1        box (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1/2    cup crumbled goat (chèvre) cheese
3/4    cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes in oil, well drained
1        egg
1        teaspoon water

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll dough. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press into 12×9-inch rectangle.

2. Spread tapénade in 3-inch wide strip lengthwise down the center of dough leaving 1-inch edge on both ends. Layer spinach evenly over the tapénade. Top with cheese then layer with tomatoes.

3. With scissors or sharp knife, make diagonal cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough rectangle to within 1/2 inch of filling. Alternately cross strips diagonally over filling. Turn ends of braid up and press to seal. In small bowl, beat egg with water. Brush over top of braid.

4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. To serve, cut into slices.

Thank you all for your support and votes!


Please help me….$2500.00 will buy a lot of ingredients if I win!

Posted on by laurielufkin

I entered the Pillsbury Monthly Recipe contest and the theme this month was appetizers.  My recipe Tuscan Splendor Spinach Braid was chosen out of hundreds of recipes as one of the top ten finalists vying for $2500.00.

Would you please vote for my recipe every day until December 1st—yes,  five days from now–and I could win $2500.00 for me and Lily!  You do have to register to vote on the Pillsbury site but you do not have to select to receive emails from them.  It only takes about two minutes to sign up to vote and then you can vote daily for the next five days.

Please help me….$2500.00 will buy a lot of ingredients if I win!

Here is the link to vote: https://generalmills.promo.eprize.com/bakeoff/?WT.ac=HP_Left_Feature_Picture_MonthlyChallenge

Here is the recipe and a (lousy scanned) photo:

And here’s how to make it-so simple and delicious with only a few ingredients:

INGREDIENTS
1        can (8 oz) Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated
seamless dough sheet
1/3    cup refrigerated black olive tapénade (from 7 oz container)
1        box (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1/2    cup crumbled goat (chèvre) cheese
3/4    cup julienne cut sun dried tomatoes in oil, well drained
1        egg
1        teaspoon water

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Unroll dough. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Press into 12×9-inch rectangle.

2. Spread tapénade in 3-inch wide strip lengthwise down the center of dough leaving 1-inch edge on both ends. Layer spinach evenly over the tapénade. Top with cheese then layer with tomatoes.

3. With scissors or sharp knife, make diagonal cuts 1 inch apart on long sides of dough rectangle to within 1/2 inch of filling. Alternately cross strips diagonally over filling. Turn ends of braid up and press to seal. In small bowl, beat egg with water. Brush over top of braid.

4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. To serve, cut into slices.

Thank you all for your support and votes!

Stuffed Crust Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie

Posted on by laurielufkin

I am often asked to make a donation to a worthy cause and if I can possibly do it, I do.  I don’t have money to give but what I do have is dessert!  At last years Essex PTO auction, I donated desserts/baked goods once a month for a year.  Well, a wonderful Essex family paid $250.00 for this service and are collecting  three months worth today, Thanksgiving morning!

PS–the Essex PTO auction is in full swing right now.  I am offering the same desserts for a year deal again!  Here is the link:   http://essex.schoolauction.net/2009/.  Check out some of the great items we have up for auction and get some holiday shopping done while supporting a great cause at the same time!

And here is the direct link to my donation–it is only at $95.00 right now–a BARGAIN so bid now!

https://essex.schoolauction.net/2009/online_auction/show/241

By the way, this pie won 2nd place in the Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust baking contest at Topsfield Fair in ’08.

Here is item #1 for today.  Two and three are coming next–we got three months behind over the summer so they are catching up today!

And here is the recipe!

Stuffed Crust Chocolate Almond Coconut Cream Pie

For the brickle filling and crust:
½ cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter
½ cup toasted finely chopped slivered almonds
1-15 oz package refrigerated pie crust

Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter and almonds.  Place over medium high heat and cook, stirring constantly until the bubbling mixture turns golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Pour onto prepared sheet and spread out thinly.  Allow to cool completely.  When cool, break into large pieces and chop coarsely in food processor.  Purchased almond brittle (brickle) may be substituted for convenience.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place one Pillsbury Refrigerate Pie Crust into a 9” pie plate.  Pour 1 1/3 cup processed brickle crumbs into the prepared crust.  Press a layer of crumbs into sides of crust, leaving about ½ inch from the edge of the pie plate crumb free.  Spread out remaining brickle to cover the bottom of the pie crust.

Unroll second crust; place on top of filled crust and pat together gently. Seal edges of crusts together and flute. Fit a second empty pie plate or pie weights on top of the filled crust and put in oven.

Bake filled crust for 15 minutes. Carefully remove top pie plate or pie weights and prick crust sides and bottom every inch with fork, piercing only the top crust.  Bake again uncovered about 15-18 minutes longer or until entire crust is light golden brown. If edge is browning too quickly, cover edge of pie crust with aluminum foil if necessary while baking.  Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

For the filling:

2 ½ cups heavy cream, divided
½ cup half and half
1 ½ cup coconut milk
¼ teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
¼ cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup cornstarch
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus one egg yolk, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
¾ cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted, divided
3 tablespoons slivered almonds
2-3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar, to taste

In a large microwave safe bowl, whisk together 1 cup heavy cream, half and half, coconut milk, coconut extract, cocoa powder and cornstarch.  Stir in sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and salt.

In the microwave on 100% power, cook custard mixture for 11-13 minutes, depending on the strength of your microwave, pausing the cooking process to stir the custard at the end of each minute.  Continue cooking custard until thickened.  When thickened, stir in chopped semisweet chocolate and stir to combine.  Pausing to stir and check custards progress each minute is crucial as microwave power varies widely.

Remove one cup hot custard and spread it on the bottom of the cooled pie shell.  Sprinkle the custard with ¼ cup coconut.  Spread one more cup of custard on op of the layer of coconut.  Repeat chocolate layer but reserve the remaining ¼ cup of coconut for the topping.

Cover pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until ready to use.

Before serving, whip the remaining heavy cream with desired amount of confectioner’s sugar and spread over pie, using a pastry bag for decorative accents if desired.  Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup of toasted coconut over whipped cream and almonds over the coconut and serve.  Pipe a decorative edge on the top of the pie with some of the whipped cream if desired.  Purchased whipped cream may be substituted for convenience.  Serves 8.  Enjoy!