Friday, April 30, 2010

Royal Christmas Cake

From: Better Homes and Gardens
Filled with candied fruits and nuts, then topped with snowy-white frosting, this cake is a Christmas dessert recipe that will be memorable.
Servings: 16 servings
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1-1/2 cups currants
1-1/2 cups dark or golden raisins
1-1/2 cups diced mixed candied fruits and peels
1 cup candied red and/or green cherries
1/2 cup almonds, ground*
4 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup rum, brandy, or orange juice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Rum, brandy, or orange juice (about 1/3 cup)
1 8-ounce can almond paste
1 recipe Royal Icing (see recipe below)

Directions
1. Grease bottom and sides of two 9x1-1/2-inch round baking pans. Line bottoms with waxed paper. Grease paper; sprinkle bottom and sides of pans lightly with flour; set aside. Stir together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and cloves. Stir in currants, raisins, fruits and peels, cherries, and almonds. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl beat eggs slightly with a fork. Add granulated sugar, butter, 1/2 cup rum, and lemon juice; stir until combined. Stir egg mixture into fruit mixture; pour into prepared pans.
3. Bake in a 300 degree F oven for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. (If necessary, cover pans loosely with foil after 1 hour to prevent overbrowning.) Cool in pans on wire racks 20 minutes; loosen edges. Remove cakes from pans. Cool thoroughly on wire racks.
4. Wrap layers separately in 100-percent cotton cheesecloth moistened with additional rum, brandy, or juice. Wrap with foil or place in large self-sealing plastic bags. Store in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks. Remoisten cheesecloth with a little additional rum if it becomes dry.
5. To assemble, up to 2 hours before serving, unwrap cake layers. Place 1 cake layer, top side down, on a serving plate. Spread with half of the almond paste. (Or, if paste is too thick to spread, divide in half and shape into balls. Place each ball between 2 sheets of waxed paper; flatten slightly. With a rolling pin, roll each portion into a 9-1/2-inch circle; trim to form a 9-inch circle. Remove top sheet of paper from 1 circle; invert onto cake. Remove remaining paper).
6. Spread about 3/4 cup of the Royal Icing over almond paste on first cake layer. Add second cake layer, top side up; spread or top with remaining almond paste. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining Royal Icing. If desired, garnish with bay leaves (do not eat). Let stand at least 30 minutes to allow Icing to set. Serve within 2 hours of frosting. Makes 16 servings.
Note
Use a grinder, blender, or food processor to grind nuts.
Royal Icing
Combine 4 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup meringue powder, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on high speed 7 to 10 minutes or until very stiff. Use immediately; cover icing in bowl with damp paper towel or with plastic wrap while working to prevent drying. Makes about 3-1/2 cups.

Christmas Sparklers

From: Ladies' Home Journal
Dip the wet rims of champagne glasses into colored sugar to make these sparkling wine and fruit drinks.
Servings: 8 servings
Prep: 10 mins
Total: 10 mins
Ingredients
4 cups pomegranate juice
1 bottled Prosecco or other dry sparkling wine

Directions
1. Pour 1/2 cup juice into each champagne flute; top with Prosecco. Makes 8 servings.

Lower-Sodium Minestrone

From: Better Homes and Gardens
This soup has fewer than 350 milligrams of sodium per serving, which fits well into a heart-healthy diets.
Servings: Makes 4 servings.
Prep: 20 mins
Total: 40 mins
Ingredients
3 cups water
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 16-ounce jar light tomato and herb-flaroved spaghetti sauce
1 15-ounce can white kidney beans or great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1/3 cup packaged dried small shell pasta
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven combine the water, cabbage, onion, carrot, and celery. Bring to boiling; reduce heat to medium. Cook, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
2. Add spaghetti sauce, kidney or great northern beans, zucchini, uncooked pasta, and salt. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes more or until vegetables and pasta are tender. Sprinkle each serving with 1 teaspoon of the Parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings.
Food exchanges
2 Starch, 3 Vegetable

Holiday Raspberry

From: Better Homes and Gardens
Raspberry syrup and red raspberries floating in champagne make an irresistible Christmas mixed drink.
Servings: Makes 1 serving.
Total: 2 mins
Ingredients
1/2 cup chilled champange
1/2 cup raspberry syrup
Fresh or frozen raspberries

Directions
1. In a champagne glass combine chilled champagne and raspberry syrup. Garnish with raspberries. Makes 1 serving.

Holiday Stars

From: Better Homes and Gardens
After the pretzels are chilled, kids can let their artistic enthusiasm go wild with these easy treats.
Servings: Makes about 3 stars.
Prep: 30 mins
Total: 50 mins
Ingredients
1 cup white baking pieces or chopped candy coating
1 tablespoon butter-flavor shortening
Pretzel sticks
Decorative sugar (optional)
Colored candy-coating disks (optional)

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan combine white baking pieces or candy coating and shortening. Cook and stir over low heat until melted.
2. Gently stir in about 1 cup of the pretzel sticks. Arrange pretzel pieces into star shapes on waxed paper. Sprinkle with colored sugar. Chill about 1 hour. Makes about 3 stars.
Make-Ahead Tip
Store pretzels in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

Gingerbread Cookies

From: Fine Cooking Magazine
Servings: Yields about 3 dozen 4-inch-tall gingerbread people.
Ingredients
14-1/4 ounces (3 cups plus 2 tablespoons) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon table salt
3/4 pound (1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup very firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg

Directions
1. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, and salt. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and molasses on medium until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg until thoroughly combined. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour until blended. Divide the dough, wrap each half in plastic, and chill until firm enough to roll, about 1 hour.
2. Position a rack in the cennter of the oven; heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lay each piece of dough between two long sheets of parchment or waxed paper. If the dough is very firm, let it sit until pliable. Roll it to about 1/8 inch thick. Peel off the top layer of paper and cut out cookies with a cookie cutter. Put the sheet of dough in the freezer for a few minutes until the dough firms enough to easily transfer the cutouts to ungreased cookie sheets (space them about 2 inches apart). Gather and reroll the scraps. Bake until the edges are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on the sheet for 1 minute before transferring the cookies to a rack to cool.
3. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container for three to four days.
Tip:
For the best results, measure your flour by weight instead of volume. (1 cup of all-purpose flour equals 4-1/2 ounces) If you don't have a scale, be sure to use the proper technique when filling your measuring cups.

Breakfast Burrito

From: Fitness
Fill a whole wheat tortilla with egg substitute, tomato, cilantro, and goat cheese for a healthy breakfast that's also easy to eat on the go.
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
1 tsp. olive oil
6 ounces egg substitute
1/2 Roma tomato, diced
1 tsp. chopped cilantro
2 tsp. crumbled goat cheese
2 whole-wheat wraps
2 Tbsp. salsa

Directions
1. Coat a nonstick pan with olive oil and preheat over medium heat. Scramble the egg substitute. Stir in the tomato and cilantro. Remove from heat and add cheese. Warm wraps in microwave and spoon half the egg mixture into each. Roll up burrito-style, tucking in the ends.
2. Serve with salsa.
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