Foodie Friday -- Warm Spinach-Parmesan Dip

I hate to confess this, but I might be sporadically posting my Foodie Fridays throughout the summer. There are a couple of reasons for this:

• With my kiddo swimming virtually every night at 6:30 (6:00 if she moves up to blue team) until 7:30, I won't be experimenting with food. I'll be seasoning a piece of chicken/hamburger/pork chop and tossing it on the grill with a salad on the side. Quick and Easy.
• I tend to grill more in the summer. And no, I don't have any secret marinades that I use. There are so many seasoning products available there simply isn't the need to make your own!
• And with the convenience of buying certain prepackaged products, why make them?
• I'm running out of recipes for the summer months. Oh, this doesn't mean that I don't have thousands of recipes in my files, but I haven't tested many of them or my family simply isn't interested in eating them. Who wants to eat a casserole when it's a sweltering 95+ degrees outside?

If I come across a wonderful new foodie site, product or recipe, I'll share it on Fridays, but it might not be a regular feature.

Any ideas or food suggestions are welcome.

This next recipe came from a Bon Appetite magazine. This time I managed to put the year on it--2005. I remember making for Thanksgiving. It was good and garlicy. Too garlicy for some family members, but I like garlic.

Warm Spinach--Parmesan Dip

2 Tbls. butter
2 Tbls. olive oil
1 3/4 cup chopped onion
6 large cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbls. flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 10-oz. pkg ready-to-use spinach leaves, coarse chopped
1 cup (packed) grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Baguette slices, toasted (pita wedges or pita chips work well, too)

Melt butter with oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute until onion is tender, about 6 minutes. Add flour, stir two minutes. Gradually whisk in stock and cream, bring to boil, whisking constantly. Cook until mixture thickens, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in spinach, cheese, sour cream and cayenne (spinach will wilt). Season with salt and pepper. Transfer dip to serving bowl. Serve warm with toasted baguette slices.

Can be made ahead. Microwave or heat in oven until warm.

FOODIE FRIDAY--Nutcracker Tart (dessert)

Okay, true confessions here. If I can get out of making a pie crust, I will—just ask my sis-in-law Margie. We’ve been cooking Thanksgiving appetizers and desserts for YEARS, and I twist her arm to make the crust every single time.  Since I hate making pie crust, I usually will lean toward tarts. Many tarts have a crumbly crust that is pressed into the pan, not rolled out.
--Okay, I lied. I must have had Margie make the crust on this one!
   I believe we made this recipe for the first time in 2010, but it could have been 2009. Age, yanno, the years run together sometimes. My wonderful niece Liz did all the hard work on the oranges.
--uhm, if I’m wrong about this, my family, then let me know . . . NOT.
And yes, this is a Bon Appetit recipe.

Nutcracker Tart

CRUST:

1 ¼ cups flour
2 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
1/3 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening, diced
¼ cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter, diced
3 Tbls. (about) ice water
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

FILLING:
1 ½ cups whipping cream

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. grated orange peel
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup pecan halves
2/3 cup roasted unsalted cashews, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup sliced almonds

Whipping cream
Orange-Cranberry Compote (optional; see recipe)

FOR CRUST: Mix flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add shortening and butter. Using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer flour mixture to a large bowl. Combine 3 tablespoons ice water and vinegar in small bowl; pour over flour mixture. Stir with fork until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls as needed. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap disk in plastic and chill at least 20 minutes and up to 3 days.

Roll out dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch-diameter round. Transfer to 11-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Press dough into tart pan. Trim dough overhang and reserve (reserve for what, I don’t remember. I think we baked it and ate it!). Freeze crust 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Bake crust until golden, about 17 minutes; if crust bubbles, press with back of fork. Cool on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F.

MEANWHILE, PREPARE FILLING: Mix 1 ½ cups cream, both sugars and honey in heavy large saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture bubbles thicken and darkens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in grated orange peel. Let stand 20 minutes. Stir in walnuts, pecans, cashews and almonds. Spoon filling into crust, distributing nuts evenly.

Bake tart until filling is bubbling thickly and is deep amber in color, about 22 minutes. Cool completely on rack. Serve with whipped cream and Orange-Cranberry Compote, if desired.

ORANGE-CRANBERRY COMPOTE

                                                                                     MAKES ABOUT 1 ¼ CUPS

6 oranges
1 cup dried cranberries
2 Tbls. Amaretto or almond syrup

Cut peel and white pith from oranges. Working over bowl, cut between membranes to release orange segments. Add cranberries and Amaretto to bowl. Toss to combine. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours.

Okay, snap to it and practice this recipe!  Okay, you can make it in the fall when it's not so hot!
Later, Peeps

Buttery Toffee recipe

I posted on Facebook that I was finishing up my candy making process and one of my FarmVille friends requested my toffee recipe.  As I mentioned, I don't mind sharing my recipes, so here is my revamped version of a Bon Appetit recipe.  Before attempting to make you MUST HAVE A CANDY THERMOMETER. 

BUTTERY PECAN TOFFEE

makes about 1.5 lbs.

Unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon honey
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted

Unsalted butter (used to butter small baking sheet 9 X 13)
melted milk chocolate for dipping (pre-tempered is best--Merkens)
coarsely ground pecans

Butter small baking sheet, set aside. Melt butter in heavy 2 1/2-quart saucepan over low heat.  Add both sugars, water and honey and stir until sugar dissolves.  Increase heat to medium and cook until candy thermometer registers 290 F, stirring slowly, but constantly, and scraping bottom of pan with rubber spatula, about 15 minutes (but can take longer.  If taking too long, then slightly increase the heat). DO NOT WALK AWAY. Toffee and caramels seem to take forever to get to the appropriate tempurature or color, but will burn quickly.

Remove pan from heat.  Mix in 1 cup of chopped nuts.  Immediately pour mixture into prepared sheet: do not scrape pan.  Let stand about 2 minutes and then score the candy with knife or metal scraper into 1-inch pieces.  Let cool.  Slip spatula under candy and break along the scored lines.  Melt chocolate and dip toffee pieces in chocolate, flipping the candy until coated.  Using fork, lift candy out and tap off excess chocolate, scraping fork along edge of bowl.  Gently lay wet candy on a bed of ground pecans until dry.  Or you can sprinkle ground pecans on top.  When dry store in air-tight container until ready to package and give away.


I hope you all enjoy this recipe.  I usually make 3 batches (thus my candy making exhaustion) to give out to about 35 friends and family members, along with all the other stuff that I make. If you have any problems or questions, feel free to email me at:  margaret.golla (at) gmail.com