Tag: delicious

Chocolate Macaroon Cake

This Chocolate Macaroon cake is delicious. Perfect for Passover but I will be making it during the year I am sure. I served it for the first Seder with the Frozen Lemon Meringue Dessert dessert, posted in this blog,   & I think people had a hard time choicing, so they tried some of both! Everyone really enjoyed it. Dense, moist & not too sweet actually. The recipe is from Bon Appetit & I didn’t change anything. Jacki made the ganache for the top. It was so nice being in the kitchen with her during her recent visit home. You should check out this recipe!

Here is the link to the recipe 

http://www.bonappetit.com/story/chocolate-macaroon-cake-passover-dessert?mbid=nl_001_03302017_Daily&CNDID=37995896&spMailingID=14694520&spUserID=MTM3ODMwNTUwNDI2S0&spJobID=963077364&spReportId=OTYzMDc3MzY0S0

 

Chocolate Macaroon Cake

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 cup almonds, toasted  *** toast the almonds in a 350f oven until they become fragrant but watch closely they do not burn  approx 10 min

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped *** I cut the chocolate up & then used the food processor to chop

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

6 large eggs

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla

Ganache for the Top

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 tbsp maple syrup + 1 tsp maple syrup

1/2 cup coconut milk ***shake the can to mix up the water & the thick part of the coconut milk

2 tbsp coconut

1 tbsp slivered almonds

1 tsp sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 325f  Grease a 10 in springform pan & line the bottom with parchment paper. Dust the sides & bottom of the pan with cocoa

  1. Using a double boiler or a heat-resistant bowl that can sit overtop of a pot without touching the water beneath it, melt the chopped chocolate & coconut oil until it is smooth  Remove from the heat
  2. Put the 1/4 cup of cocoa, salt & almonds in a food processor. Pulse until the nuts are finely ground then add the coconut & pulse just to mix together
  3. Put the eggs into a mixing bowl & beat until well mixed. Add the sugars & vanilla, mix until this is thick & pale, ***you can use the whisk attachment but I used a hand mixer with the 2 beaters & it was fine
  4. Add the chocolate mixture,mixing well
  5. Add the coconut/almond mixture. mix well making sure that it is combined throughly
  6. Put the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top
  7. Bake 35-45 minutes until it is firm to touch. Test the cake with a toothpick or cake taster, it should come out clean but the recipe says “greasy’ & the my cake collapsed a bit in center
  8. Cool the cake a bit until you can handle it. but not completely as you want to cool it out of the pan
  9. Release the cake from the pan by using a knife around the edges. Turn the cake over & remove the bottom of the pan and the parchment paper
  10. Let it cool completely
  11. Put your cake onto a serving platter ready for the ganache topping

 

Make the Ganache

Preheat oven to 350f

  1. Mix the coconut, almonds, sugar & 1 tsp maple syrup together & pyut onto a lined cookie sheet, toast until brown. Cool & then break up *** this is put on top of the ganache
  2. Put the chocolate, 1 tbsp maple syrup into a bowl ( if you are using a hand micer)  big enough to add the coconut milk to …set aside *** if you are not using a hand mixer, put the chocolate into a bowl from from your mixermaster
  3. Heat the coconut milk in a saucpan until simmering
  4. Pour the warm coconut milk over the chocolate & let the chocolate melt
  5. Once the chocolate is melted, beat it until it has lost its sheen, approx 6-8 minutes. It should hold very soft peaks when you lift the beaters
  6. Put the ganache onto the cooled cake before it sets. Using a knife or offset spatula, spread it to the edges ***Jacki let it go down the sidesa bit & it was very pretty
  7. Top the ganache with the coconut/almond mix that you toasted before the ganache sets

Enjoy!

IMG_1402IMG_1405

Marilyn Dishes2 Comments

Passover Blintzes with Mrs. Shapiro

Here is a video of Mrs. Shapiro, she is in her 90’s, making blinttzes for Passover. Even if you never want to make Passover Blintzes the video is so sweet to watch! & you can always use the blintzes any time of year.

Continue reading “Passover Blintzes with Mrs. Shapiro” →

Marilyn Dishes4 Comments

Apricot Chicken

There are variations of this recipe everywhere.  I make mine a little bit different then the other recipes I have seen ‘out there” & I think it is because when my sister Edith gave me this recipe, probably 36 years ago when I was first married, I misunderstood the directions!

Continue reading “Apricot Chicken” →

Marilyn Dishes1 Comment

Green Bean Salad with Pickled Red Onions

Fresh green beans, cooked tender crisp & eaten cold with soft pickled onions. This is a great side dish or salad…your choice. I served this as a side dish, but I think it would be good served as part of an appetizer course for dinner. I follow a great food blog called loveandumami. The  recipe for pickled onions is from there. I made them mostly because we like onions, but not raw ones. This seemed like a perfect solution. I am not going to put the recipe here, but I think you should visit loveandumami & get the recipe! I served these onions with cold blanched green beans that I had put a vinaigrette on . I will give you the recipe for the green bean salad

You can find the recipe for the pickled onions here

https://loveandumami.com/2017/03/16/quick-pickled-onions/

Green Bean Salad with Pickled Red Onions

3oo grams of fresh green beans *** of course you can make as much as you’d like!

Pickled red onions ***get the recipe from lovenadumami

Vinaigrette:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp sugar

1.2 tsp salt

pepper

 

Method

  1. Trim the green beans
  2. Boil a pot of water big enough for all the green beans to go into at one time
  3. Drop the beans into the boiling water & let boil until they are a bright green colour..I boiled them for about 5 minutes
  4. While the beans are boiling, get a bowl of ice water ready that you will put the beans into to stop the cooking process
  5. When the beans are cooked to you liking, transfer them with a slotted spoon to the ice water. Let cool in there, drain well, I dried them,  then transfer the beans  to a serving dish
  6. Mix up the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar & shake well to combine.
  7. Put some of the pickled red onions on the beans *** the amount of onions you use is up to you !
  8. Pour as much vinaigrette on your beans & onions as you like…some like their food more ‘dressed’ then others & it depends on how many beans you have cooked

Enjoy!

 

IMG_0907IMG_0908IMG_0909IMG_0910IMG_0923

Marilyn Dishes4 Comments

Black Bean, Corn & Cheese Enchiladas

This recipe is from November 2014 from the website MyRecipes.com. It was in my vegetarian mailbox where I have many recipes that I want to try! I will put the link to the original recipe here but I changed it up quite a bit! There were a few issues that I found with the original recipe, not to be critical, and perhaps it was something I did … the recipe instructed the sauce  to be cooked until thick about 8 minutes but it never really did thicken up., I boiled it for approx. 10 minutes. I used it as is, but it might just be too runny… The changes I made were the following, I added some corn niblets to the black beans & cheese and all of the green onions that the recipe called for, I didn’t have the peppers so I added chili powder & garlic powder instead of fresh garlic (which I was out of) & dried oregano. I will write down the recipe as I made it.

Here is the link to the original recipe

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/black-bean-cheese-enchiladas

Here is my recipe

Black bean, corn & Cheese Enchiladas

2 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 can black beans, drained

1 can corn niblets, drained

3 green onions, finely chopped

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

6 large white corn tortillas

sour cream, guacamole & salsa  for serving if desired

Method

Preheat oven to 400F

Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish

  1. Sauté the chopped onions in the oil until starting to brown.
  2. Add the broth, oregano, garlic, chili powder & cumin, cook for approximately 10 minutes, hopefully it will start to get thick! *** my advice here is to follow the recipe and see how it goes. I must have done something incorrect. I did add an extra cup of water to the blender which would have been from the hot peppers…I left it out of my recipe because the sauce did not need the extra water. So the total liquid I think should be the 2 cups of broth…but try the original recipe…
  3. Pour the onion mixture into a blender, be careful it is hot. Take the centre piece out of the lid so the steam escapes & use a dish towel over the hole in the lid so the liquid doesn’t spray out of blender all over the place! I also put on an oven mitt to hold the towel with. Puree until smooth. Add the lemon juice. mix again briefly.
  4. In a bowl,mix the black beans, corn niblets, chopped green onion & 1 cup of cheese together
  5. Warm the tortillas up so that they are pliable, it will say on the package how to do this. I just put the ones I used onto some paper towel in the microwave and warmed them up for 1 minute. If that isn’t enough, warm them up for longer but be careful not to over-heat them in the microwave or they will get too hard.
  6. Pour half of the sauce in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.
  7. Fill each tortilla with about 5 spoonfuls of the filling. Roll up & put into the baking dish. I had left-over filling, so I just put it on top and around the rolled up tortillas!
  8. Top the tortillas with the rest of the sauce & grated cheese
  9. Bake for 25 minutes or until hot, bubbly & the cheese is melty and a bit brown
  10. Serve with sour cream & guacamole & salsa if desired

***the sauce cooked off in the oven and this dish is delicious!!

img_0163

 

Marilyn DishesLeave a comment

Mushroom, Leek and Fontina Frittata from Bon Appetit

 The first time I posted this was in November 2016. I think it is time to revisit it. Breakfast for supper tonight1

I find wonderful recipes from Bon Appetit. I used to subscribe to the magazine but now I follow them on Instagram so every day I see the beautiful food that they make. I also sub…

Source: Mushroom, Leek and Fontina Frittata from Bon Appetit

Marilyn Dishes

Burger Bar for 2!

Homemade burgers are great! Made in a skillet…isusally I use my cast iron pan but Murray had sautéed the mushrooms with some chives in the skillet so why dirty another pan? I put in a small amount of oil, swirled it around and gently placed the patties in. I left them sizzling on the one side until I could see that they were about half way cooked through… flipped them over & then finished cooking them on side 2. Meanwhile I went into the fridge and pulled out some toppings … cut up a tomato, prepared some head lettuce..my personal favorite in a burger …mixed up a sauce … and away we went.  Oh.. and the buns.. we are trying to watch out carbs a bit ( have to make room for cookies etc!) so I scooped out the bready part of the top half of the bun ! The lettuce nestled in there quite nicely !

So this is what I did! 

Ingredients

Sliced mushrooms.***Murray bought the mushrooms so I do not know how much he bought but remember that they shrink down when cooked

Oil

Salt

A handful of chopped chives

1 lb hamburger meat , mine was lean

1 tomato, sliced thickly *** I got 4 nice slices from one tomato

From the fridge: 

Relish

Sauerkraut

Homemade sauce:

4 tbsp mayonnaise

2 tbsp BBQ sauce

1 tsp Siracha sauce
Method:

1.Slice & saute the mushrooms in about 2 tbsp oil.Sprinkle with a bit of salt.   Once the moisture is released and the mushrooms are starting to brown, throw in the chopped chives ***if you don’t have chives just the mushrooms are great. Stir the mushrooms often to make sure they are evenly cooked

2. Meanwhile, take the toppings you want to use out of the fridge so they aren’t going to be cold on your hot burger!

3. Once the mushrooms are finished cooking to your desired doneness…remove from the pan and reserve in a bowl

4. Heat the sauté pan before adding the beef.  If your pan is non-stick I don’t think you will need oil.. if you are using a stainless steel pan, add a couple of tablespoons of oil and swirl it around to coat the entire bottom of the pan.

5. Divide the ground beef into 4 & form into patties. Place carefully into the hot sauté pan

6. Let them cook undisturbed until they look halfway cooked.. you can tell by looking at the side of the patties…then flip them over & finish cooking

*** if your pan is too hot the meat will burn before cooking through, if the pan is not hot enough the meat will not sear, so watch the heat .. I have a gas cook-top & use medium high heat.

7. While the burgers are cooking, mix up the sauce by combining the mayonnaise, BBQ sauce and the siracha sauce … which adds a bit of heat to the sauce.

8. Once the burgers are cooked, you are ready to put your burgers together

10 We put the lettuce and tomato on the top half, nestled in the space we made when we scopped out the bready part,  then on the bottom half first went the sauce, then the relish and sauerkraut ( or whatever you are using) and then a bunch of the sautéed mushrooms, then the juicy burger! Topped it and added a pick to hold it all together!

Dig in and enjoy!!  Make sure you have napkins handy!

img_2039img_2043img_2050img_2052

 

Marilyn DishesLeave a comment

Layered Nacho Bake- Vegetarian

Run don’t walk to the grocery store so you have time to put this together for the game..or anytime actually! This is a cheesy yummy nacho bake that you will need a fork for! Layers of nacho chips, refried beans, salsa and lots of cheese..nothing bad here!

Continue reading “Layered Nacho Bake- Vegetarian” →

Marilyn Dishes2 Comments

Quick Salmon Patties

These salmon patties are a staple in our house. I keep a couple of cans of salmon in the pantry to whip up these patties for dinner anytime. They are good as the main in a meal, on a bun as a burger or cold from the fridge.

Continue reading “Quick Salmon Patties” →

Marilyn Dishes1 Comment

Peroghy…Pirogi…Pierogi anyway you spell it, they are delicious

I was fortunate enough to be invited to take part in a family pierogi making day this past weekend.Last year we were given some pierogi to eat and they were so perfect and delicious that I am really glad I got to make some with these talented ladies and some of their husbands. This family has been getting together and making pierogi for many years, The woman fill them, a couple of the guys make the dough and one boils them up. Everyone who wants to take some pierogi home brings thier own filling. I brought potato and cheddar cheese. There was a sauerkraut filling, a cheeseburger one, some with bacon, cottage, cheese and potato, blueberry  and a few more. The dough recipe comes from the Kruper family. They have given me permission to post the recipe! This year the family made 144 dozen!! (5 of those were mine)
Kruper Family Pierogi 
Ingredients
Dough
 2 cups flour
1 cup sour cream
 My Filling 
4-6 potatoes *** I used Russet
1/2 pkg grated sharp cheddar cheese
Method 
1. Boil potatoes until soft. Drain the water out completely  and mash well
2. Add the grated cheddar cheese , salt and pepper to taste and mix well until completely combined and cheese melts into the potatoes.. Best to taste lots to the delicious cheesy filling!! …To make sure it is seasoned well!  Let cool
3, Measure the flour into a bowl and add the sour cream. Mix well with your hands until well combined. Put this onto a floured board or counter and knead until a soft dough forms. Add a little bit of flour if needed but not much because then the dough will be hard.
4. Roll the dough on a lightly floured board approximately 1/8 thick,using a glass or cookie cutter cut rounds in the dough.
5. Fill the circles with a heaping tablespoon of filling. Gather the circle around the filling forming a half-moon shape. Pinch the edges together well so that they do not come apart while being boiled.  If your edges do not stay together well, put a bit of flour on your fingers then pinch again. This helps the dough stick together..
6. At this point, there are several options. You can boil them and eat them of course!! OR, boil and put onto a floured cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze, then when frozen put them into a freezer bag for storage. OR, freeze them uncooked, put into a freezer bag with space between them and freeze or do the same as the cooked ones, freeze onto a floured cookie sheet them when frozen store in freezer bags. If you freeze them cooked, when ready to use you can just put them into a frying with some oil or butter and cook until defrosted. If frozen uncooked, bring a pot of water to a boil and put your pierogi into the boiling water and cook until they pop up to the top and are done.
**** I think that the amount of filling will be the right amount for one dough recipe, although I am not exactly sure. so much depends on the size of your potatoes and how thick you roll your dough out. I could not give you an accurate number of pierogi that this makes as they just keep making dough until all the different fillings are used up!
 
IMG_0859 2IMG_0860

 

Marilyn Dishes3 Comments