June 2017 Recipes

Apple-Mint Danish Squares by Lana Andrews
Pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
1 cup shortening
1 egg yolk
½ cup milk
1 tbsp. chopped mint

Filling:
6 cups sliced & peeled apples
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon

Glaze:
1 egg white (slightly beaten)
½ cup conf. sugar
2-3 tsp. water

Combine flour & salt and cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Combine yolk & milk and add to flour mixture. Stir just until mixture clings together.  Divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of dough into a 15 x 10 rectangle and transfer to a greased 15 x 10 baking pan. (I used parchment paper).
Toss together all the filling ingredients and spoon over pastry in the pan.
Roll out the remaining dough to the same size and place over the filing. Brush with egg white. Bake @375 for 40 minutes – until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Combine the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the warm pastry; let it cool for 10 minutes. Cut into squares when cool.

Herbal-Cheesy Squares by Lana Andrews
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 medium green onions – thinly sliced
4 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. of the following – oregano, parsley, thyme (dried or fresh)
1 cup milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
¼ cup finely chopped green pepper and ¼ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
4 slices crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled

Preheat to 400. Grease 11 X 7 baking dish.
Combine the first 7 ingredients (I counted the herbs as just one ingredient) – mix well, Combine milk, oil and egg. Add to cornmeal mixture just until moistened. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Combine cheese, peppers and bacon, sprinkle evenly over cornmeal mixture.
Bake 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool at least minutes before cutting into squares.

Summer Sausage Dippers by Lana Andrews
6 oz. sharp Cheddar cheese – cut into 1”: chunks
Pimiento-stuffed olives
Hillshire Farm Sausage – cut into 40 half-moon slices
Secure on a frilled toothpick - 1 piece of sausage, piece of cheese and top with an olive.  Refrigerate. Serve with dipping sauce.
Dipping Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
½ cup apricot jam
1 Tbsp, cider vinegar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Combine all ingredients in a small pan – heat and stir until smooth.

Berry Shortbread Cookies by Lana Andrews
1 cup butter – softened
2/3 cup sugar
½ tsp. almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup raspberry or strawberry jam
Glaze:
1 cup confectionary sugar
½ tsp. almond extract
2-3 tsp. water
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.Beat in extract and gradually add flour until dough forms. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Roll dough into 1” balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet (I used parchment paper).  Use end of a wooden spoon to make an indent in each cookie. Fill with jam.
Bake at 350 for 14-18 minutes – edges will be slightly browned.  Remove to wire rack.  Add additional jam if needed. Combine glaze ingredients and drizzle over slightly cooled cookies.

Cucumber Sandwich Spread by Phyllis Cutrell
8 oz cream cheese softened
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and finely chopped cucumber
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup minced red onion
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Diced strawberries, optional
Stir together all ingredients and spread on bread slices and cut. May add fresh strawberries on top of spread.

Egg Salad for Sandwiches by Phyllis Cutrell
5 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped celery
2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
2 tbsp mayo
1 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Mix ingredients and spread on bread.

Carmelitas by Phyllis Cutrell
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, melted
14 oz. caramels, unwrapped
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces
1 cup chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper.
Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, soda and salt. Stir in melted butter and mix until crumbly.
Press 2/3 of mixture on bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans and chocolate over the crust.
In a small saucepan, combine caramels and heavy cream. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until melted.
Pour caramel from the pan over the chocolate and pecans. Crumble the reserved oatmeal dough over the caramel layer.
Bake for 23 min or until light golden brown.Cool completely in pan and cut into bars once cooled.

Minted lemonade from Beth Burgin
Same recipe as Marsha's Lemonade with Rosemary from the Herb Guild cookbook except substituted mint for rosemary.
Strong mint simple syrup; 3-4 cups fresh mint leaves coarsely chopped and muddled into the 3 cups water and 3 cups sugar called for in the original recipe. Heat the sugar/mint/water slowly over med-low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Once it comes to a boil reduce to very low simmer for about 2 more minutes, don't stir. Cut the stove off, leave mixture to cool, then refrigerate overnight. Strain and use as needed to sweeten lemonade.

ROYGBIV fruit kabobs from Beth Burgin
20 Skewers 
Large container strawberries (washed, de-stemmed, 1 cantaloupe, cut into 1" cubes, 1 pineapple, cut into 1" cubes, green grapes, blueberries, red grapes.  Assemble as a rainbow on the skewers.  


Caprese salad skewers from Beth Burgin

  • Extra long toothpicks
  • 24 large grape tomatoes halved 
  • 24 fresh mozzarella cheese balls "Bocconcini"
  • 24-30 fresh basil leaves
  • 3-4 tablespoons olive oil, various Italian seasonings, garlic powder, salt and freshly ground pepper
  • Balsamic vinegar to drizzle over finished skewers

  • Mix the olive oil and seasonings together to taste and marinate the mozzarella 3-4 hours or overnight. Assembly = tomato half, basil leaf surrounding the mozzarella balls, 2nd tomato half.  Drizzle with balsamic.

No comments: