Turkey Chili

from Chef at Harding Park Golf Course

via Irene Lindbeck Tibbits

preparation time: about 1 hour

serves 6 to 8

scant ¼ cup olive oil

2 pounds ground turkey

1 yellow onion, diced

1 fresh jalapeno (2 ounces), cut in half, cored and seeded

¼ cup or a little less chopped or crushed fresh garlic

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon Cayenne pepper

28-ounce can diced tomatoes

24 ounces tomato juice

3 4-ounce cans tomato paste

12-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

12-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

salt and pepper to taste

In a large Dutch-oven which will eventually hold all the ingredients, heat olive oil and add the ground turkey.  Sauté the meat until no pink is left.  Then add onion, jalapeno, garlic and spices and cook for 5 minutes.  Then add tomatoes, juice, paste, and beans and simmer for 30 minutes covered, and 15 additional minutes uncovered.  Before serving, remove the jalapeno halves, you can chop for an optional garnish if desired.  Leftovers freeze well.

Serving suggestion: Lightly sprinkle with shredded cheddar or other shredded cheese of your choice. 

Friends who have eaten this just love it. I double the recipe when I make it because it freezes so well and is a quick dinner when needed.

Amor Polenta (Florentine Cornmeal Cake)

from Sunset Magazine May 1972 - long ago

submitted by Michael Dewees

preparation time: about 90 minutes overall

serves about 15

⅔ cup soft butter (10⅔ tablespoons)

2⅔ cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla (or 1¼ teaspoon almond extract)

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

1¼ cups cake flour

⅓ cup yellow corn meal

extra powdered sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl or electric mixer, beat butter and add sugar a small amount at a time until all is incorporated and product is light and creamy. Beat in vanilla; then add eggs and yolk one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift and measure flour, then mix with corn meal. Add flour mixture a portion at a time to batter, blending well after each addition.

Generously grease and flour dust a 10-inch deerback pan (½ loaf ribbed pan that makes a long ribbed cake). Spoon batter into pan and spread evenly.

Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick, inserted in middle comes out, clean and cake springs back when lightly touched in the center. Cool cake in pan for 3 minutes (this is important), then turn out onto a wire rack. Sift 2 tablespoons powdered sugar over the warm cake. Let cool completely. 

Chocolate Butterscotch Shortbread

from Top Chef

submitted by Sue Gilbert

preparation time: 2+ hours overall

serves 12 or more

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup butterscotch chips

8 ounces dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Beat butter and sugar together, using the paddle attachment of your mixer. Beat for three minutes until light in color and fluffy. Add vanilla, reduce speed and slowly add flour and salt until just combined. Mix in butterscotch chips and stir until evenly distributed.

Grease a 9x9-inch baking pan. Press dough evenly into pan and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Score the dough into eighths in one direction and quarters in the other direction to make 32 sections.  Pierce dough all over with a fork.

Bake until firm and slightly golden brown around the edges, 50 to 60 minutes. Immediately cut the cookies along the scoring and then cool in the pan.

Remove cookies from the pan and place on a baking sheet.  Dip each cookie into the chocolate, covering about ½ of the cookie. Refrigerate until the chocolate is set, about 30 minutes.

If you are a butterscotch fan, these are heaven.

Confetti Cookies

adapted from SmittenKitchen by Carol Hutchinson

preparation time: about an hour

makes 4 dozen cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ cup cream cheese

1 cup unsalted butter

1¼ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional but delicious)

1 cup rainbow sprinkles

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and whisk to blend.  In a large bowl or the bowl of a standard mixer, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add egg and extracts and blend again.  Add flour mixture and beat just until the flour disappears.  In some cases, this dough will feel too soft to roll into balls in your hands; if so let it chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or so before using.

Scoop balls of dough and roll them briefly in the palms of your hands before dropping them in a bowl of rainbow sprinkles and gently rolling to coat them evenly.  The sprinkles adhere much better to tacky exterior of balls of dough that have been briefly warmed by your hands.

Transfer balls of sprinkle-coated dough to baking sheets at least two inches apart.  Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press down on the cookies until they are about ¼ to ½ inch tall.  If you see any bare spots in the sprinkles that bother you, you can sprinkle a few more on top.  Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until they look under baked but lightly golden underneath. (If they are not quite soft in the center, they will be fully crisped through the next day.)  Let set on the baking sheet on a rack for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool the rest of the way. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. 

Danish Apple Dessert

from edible SAN FRANCSICO

submitted by Anne Halsted

preparation time: about 50 minutes

serves 6 or more

3 cups Italian-style bread, torn roughly into 1 inch pieces

½ cup olive oil

⅓ cup water

⅔ cup sugar

⅔ cup plus ¾ cup heavy cream

pinch of salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper, ground coarsely

2 tablespoons butter

1 pound Braeburn apples, peeled, cored, cut into ½-inch cubes

3 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves removed

To make the croutons: preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Put the bread into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.  Mix well until thoroughly coated.  Spread croutons onto baking sheet and bake for 110 minutes; rotate pan and bake until golden brown, about 10 more minutes.  Set aside to cool.

To make the caramel sauce: Put water and sugar into a 4-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until the sauce is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in ⅔ cup of heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper.

To make the apples: Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.  Add butter, when it has melted and stopped foaming, add apple chunks.  Brown the applies on all sides and remove from the heat immediately so they maintain some crispiness.  Stir in oregano leaves.

To serve: In a bowl or mixer, whisk ¾ cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form. Put each component in a bowl by itself, and allow guests to create their own desserts.  Or for individual servings, start with apple chucks on bottom, top with whipped cream, decorate with croutons and serve with caramel sauce on the side.

Perfect Lemon Bars

from Cook’s Illustrated

submitted by Judy Gray

preparation time: about 1 hour

makes 2 dozen 1½ - 2 inch squares

Crust:

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

⅔ cup confectioners sugar, plus extra to decorate finished bars

¼ cup cornstarch

¾ teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks) at very cool room temp, cut into 1-inch pieces, 

plus extra for greasing pan

Lemon Filling:

4 large eggs, beaten lightly

1⅓ cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (2 large lemons)

⅔ cup juice from 3 or 4 lemons, strained

⅓ cup whole milk

⅛ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Adjust oven rack to middle position. Lightly butter a 13 x 9-inch baking dish and line with a sheet of parchment. Dot paper with butter, and place a second sheet crosswise over it.

Pulse flour, confectioners sugar, cornstarch, and salt in food processor work bowl fitted with steel blade. Add butter and process to blend, 8 to 10 seconds, and then pulse until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse meal, about three 1 second bursts. Sprinkle mixture into lined pan and press firmly with fingers into an even, ¼-inch layer over the entire pan bottom and about ½ inch up the sides.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes, then bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs, sugar and flour in medium bowl, then stir in lemon zest and juice, milk, and salt to blend well.  Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Stir filling mixture to re-blend and pour onto warm crust. Bake until filling feels firm when touched lightly, about 20 minutes.  Transfer pan to wire rack; cool to near room temperature, at least 30 minutes.

Grasp the edges of the parchment paper and lift the bars onto a cutting board and cut into serving-size pieces. Dust with sieved confectioners sugar.

Cutting the bars can be done easily with a pizza cutter. 

Cinnamon Chia-Flax Protein Pancakes

from Perchance to Cook

submitted by Katherine Koelsch Kriken 

preparation time: 15 minutes 

yields 16 3-inch pancakes 

4 eggs 

2 bananas 

4 tablespoons ground chia seeds 

4 tablespoons ground golden flax seeds 

2 teaspoon cinnamon 

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 

½ teaspoon baking soda 

2 teaspoon honey olive oil 

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender. Scrape the sides of the blender down with a spatula and then blend everything together one more time.

Heat a large frying pan/skillet or griddle over medium heat. Put a little olive oil onto the pan and spread it around.

Pour 2 tablespoons of batter to make each pancake. Wait until the batter starts bubbling a bit before flipping. Cook about 30 seconds on either side or until golden brown. For more crunch and texture, simply combine unground seeds in the blender with rest of the ingredients. Whirl until everything is combined.

This recipe is very simple, quick, and the pancakes taste very good!