Amy's "for the LOVE" night

 Appetizers:

**Pretzels and costco cranberry/jalepeno dip

**pomegranate avacado salsa

Main:

**Biscuits (I double the recipe and make it in a 9x13 pan, I just use 1.5 cubes of butter instead of doubling that.  It'll bake for 23 min)

**Farro & Mexican chicken bowls (I sometimes also add some diced zucchini to this, just cook it with the corn and pepper)

** deconstructed lettuce wrap bowls.  Rice, sausage/veggie mix, chopped lettuce or cabbage, Chow mein noodles, peanuts, sauces.

1lb Spicy sausage

2 tsp Szechuan seasoning

1 small zucchini chopped

8 oz mushrooms washed and chopped

2 carrots chopped

1/2 bunch green onions

8oz can of sliced water chestnuts

1/4 c. Soy Sauce

Brown the sausage with the seasoning.  Add veggies and cook until crisp-tender.  Add the soy sauce at the end.  

Sauce toppings: japanese bbq sauce, Kinders chicken dipping sauce (both found at Costco or Harmons)

or just mix some mayo, sriracha, and water for a sauce with a kick!

Dessert:

Churros with ice cream and Carmel sauce

extra large metal piping tip

Amy & Brittany host couples Breakfast

 Appetizer:

Spanish Tortilla Recipe (Tortilla de Patates)

Served with Aioli

Ebelskivers with lemon curd and berries

For the Lemon Curd:

• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (4-6 lemons)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed

Bring an inch of water in a large saucepan to a simmer. In a bowl that fits on the saucepan but does not touch the simmering water, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and eggs. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon (this can take between 10 and 30 minutes). Add the butter, one cube at a time, stirring until it has melted before adding the next. Once all the butter has been added, place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to cool slightly and set up.

Main:

Carmelized French Toast (I omitted the extra sugar in the recipe, and used raw turbino sugar crystals to coat the slices -but granulated sugar works too).   One recipe will make about 10 slices.  I bought the challah bread from Harmons (they even sell challah with sugar on top which is great!).  I cooked the toast at 350’ on my griddle.  Use tongs to flip the slices rather than a spatula, it works a little better.  Also be sure to let those slices soak for a pretty significant amount of time!

Homemade Carmel Syrup

1 C Buttermilk

2 Cubes Butter

2 Cups Sugar

1 tsp. Soda

2 Tbsp. Karo Syrup

Boil this for 5 min stirring occasionally. This will expand so use a very large soup or stock pot.

Then add-

2 tsp vanilla

I keep this in a jar in the fridge. It hardens, but you just pop it in the microwave for a minute or two (stir in between if needed).

Banana Brûlée 

Afghanistan Tomato Egg dish:   Coat the bottom of a large frying pan with 3/4C  olive oil heated at med.  Add 4 large chopped tomatoes.  Salt the tomatoes then simmer on med low with lid.  After a couple minutes, mash the tomatoes (can add some tomato sauce if needed) and add 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 Tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp Tumeric powder, 1tsp salt, 1 tsp Cumin, 1 tsp chili flakes, 1 tsp of onion powder, dash of allspice, 2 cloves of garlic minced.  If the mixture is too thick, you can add a little water.  Put the lid back on and let it simmer some more.  Add the juice and pulp of 2 small limes, and some pepper.  Turn up heat to med-high and add the eggs (12), then salt, pepper, paprika then replace lid and let cook.  Then scrape/lift the eggs off the bottom of the pan, then gently lift and flip them.  Place lid on top and cook more until desired doneness of the yolk.  Serve immediately.

*Serve with bread 

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict  you can make the hollandaise as directed in the recipe or an easier way below!

Homemade English muffins 

Hollandaise Sauce:

3 egg yolks

¼ tsp Dijon

¼ tsp salt

1 Tbsp Lemon juice

Dash of cayenne pepper

Dash of paprika

Blend all ingredients for about 5 seconds in a blender

Melt ½ C. butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave (watch that it melts all the way but doesn’t explode). Turn blender on high and slowlypour in the butter (just a very small and steady stream). The butter still needs to be very hot when you add it so as to slightly cook the egg. Serve immediately. To keep it warm you can place the container of Hollandaise in a pot with hot water in it. Unfortunately Hollandaise sauce cannot be saved and reheated, it separates.

Dessert:

Sweet rolls

 cranberry orange filling

With this roll recipe

Passion Fruit tart   (for the mini tarts, I rolled out the dough and cut it with a flower shaped circle cookie cutter, poke with fork tines, then gently press them down into muffin tins.  Cook at 400 for 10-12 min.)

Passion fruit mousse (this is another fun recipe you might want to try with passion fruit pulp)

Buy your frozen passion fruit pulp (pictured here) from Rancho Mexican Market (in clearfield or SLC), you can also get frozen passion fruit seeds from Rancho.  The seeds are needed to spoon over top (or you could use pomegranate arils)

Amy's Italian night

Whipped Feta and Roasted Olives 

Pizza Chenna or Pizza Rustica I only cooked this for 1.5 hrs, cooled for 30min (you could then eat it immediately but the bread is a little crusty/tuff.  Putting it in the fridge for a day seems to help that problem.  I just microwave each slice for a bit to warm it up before eating).  For the meat, I just ask the deli to slice it thick (like 1") because I am going to cube it.

Arrabbiata sauce  I puree this in a blender at the end so that it has a smooth consistency.  If eating it with pasta I like to add capers and some crumbled goat cheese on top.

Creamy Garlic Mushrooms. When I added the cream cheese and parmesan, it was really thick and didn't need an additional 5 min of cooking.  I just added a little bit of water and stirred it and it was good to go!

Pioneer Woman Raspberry crisp. (1 recipe makes just a pie plate or 8x8 so I doubled this recipe).  You may need to broil it at the end for just a minute or two to brown the topping a bit.

Oatmeal Cake (I cooked a 9x13 pan for 35min)

Amy's Fruit & Veggie night

 Appetizers

Bread cheese (fried in a pan) with raspberry rhubarb jam for dip.  I was able to find this cheese at the Smith's on 200 N in Kaysville

Monster Shakes

First add 2-3 cups of water to the blender along with a 1.5oz can of Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut.  Toss in whatever fruit & veggies you would like (I did Banana, strawberries, spinach).  Put Ice Cubes (about 2 1/2 cups) on top and blend all together.

Main Course- Naan Pizza and Mediterranean Tacos

Peach Pizza: 

Ingredients: Peach, Prosciutto, fresh mozzarella cheese, ricotta or goat cheese, Monterey Jack or asiago cheese, 4 large naan flatbreads, olive oil, garlic, fresh basil, balsamic reduction

Preheat oven to 450 and place baking sheet on top rack to heat up.  Prepare your Naan on tinfoil by Brushing Naan with olive oil and minced garlic.  Season with salt and pepper, then lay prosciutto onto naan.  Dollop ricotta or goat cheese onto pizza, then add the mozzarella, Asiago or Monterey Jack, and sliced peaches.  Place tinfoil with Naan on baking sheet in the oven and Bake for 6min.  Before serving, sprinkle pizza with fresh basil and balsamic reduction.  

To make Balsamic reduction: Pour 1c balsamic vinegar and 1/4c honey into a large, deep skillet..  Allow the mixture to simmer for around 15 minutes, or until the vinegar has reduced. Once cooled, it will thicken quite a bit.

BBQ Pineapple Pizza

Ingredients: Red onion, pineapple, balsamic vinegar, poblano pepper, fresh mozzarella, Monterey Jack cheese, 4 large naan flatbreads, bbq sauce, Portuguese sausage (I buy the Silva Linguica brand at smiths)

Preheat oven to 450 and place baking sheet on top rack to heat up.  Prepare your Naan on tinfoil by spreading it evenly with BBQ sauce.  Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium heat and add 1/2 a red onion sliced thin. Cook until softened (about 6-8min).  

While the onion cooks, very thinly slice a poblano pepper into strips, toss in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Dice mozzarella, pineapple (about 1/2c), and Portuguse Sausage into 1/2-inch pieces (I use 1 long link).

Once cooked onion is softened, increase heat to medium high and add the pineapple tidbits and chopped Portuguese sausage.  Cook, stirring until pineapple is lightly browned (2-3min).  Stir in 5 tsp of Balsamic or Red wine vinegar, stir for 1-2 min more on the heat until it all thickens a bit.  Turn off heat and season with salt and pepper.

Top bbq covered naan with the onion & pineapple mix, then diced mozzarella and some Monterey Jack cheese, then poblano strips.  Place tinfoil with Naan on baking sheet in the oven and bake for 6min.

Med Tacos

https://sunbasket.com/recipe/chicken-and-hummus-flatbread-tacos-with-greek-kale-salad

• 1 ounce sun-dried tomato strips (not in oil)
• 2 to 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 10 ounces total)
• 3 ounces organic shredded kale or other leafy greens
• Mediterranean vinaigrette (3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil - 1 TBSP red wine vinegar - 1 clove minced garlic - dried oregano & basil - Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, lemon juice)
• 3 tablespoons crumbled feta
• Naan flatbreads
• Kroger Mediterranean herb Hummus

Dessert:

Pie dough

Pineapple Mac nut pie

***I made one change, I only pre-baked the piecrust for 15min instead of the recommended 30min in the recipe.  On the final bake, I did 22 min

Apple Pie

Except I use 3/4 cup of brown sugar instead of the white sugar

and 2 Tbsp of Thickener (EZ Gel) instead of flour

Bake at 425 for 1 hr

Amy & Rachel's Fall Spice Night

 Appetizer - 

Turkey pumpkin chili (I added 1lb of cooked ground turkey)

Red lentil soup with Naan from Costco  (just warm up in toaster and cut with pizza cutter into wedges)

Recipe below is how my Afghani friend described how it is made:

cook onion till soft, add tomatoes for 5 min.,

Add 3 cups of water with lentils and spices (Turmeric, cumin, garlic, red pepper, red pepper flakes, pepper, Cilantro, coriander, and 1 TB salt)

Cover and cook for a few minutes, test to see if it needs 1 more cup of water.

Smash all together with back of a spoon

I found these recipe's online, and they may help if you want to make this soup (I have not attempted this myself so I can't tell you how they'll turn out).

Main-  Bolani

Filling:

Cut & Boil 3 medium potatoes, once done and fork slides easily through them, drain the water.  Put them in a large bowl & mash with fork.  

Next make salsa- put in processor 2 tomatoes with 1 jalapeño (if desired) and 1/2 bunch of cilantro & 1/2 bunch of green onions

Place Salsa in bowl then mix in the seasonings:

black pepper (almost 1tsp)

Salt 1.5 tsp

1 tsp coriander seeds (grind or smash by hand with back of spoon in a bowl)

Red chili powder (1/4 to 1/2 tsp)

Ground cumin 1/2 tsp

1 tsp Cumin seeds

Crushed red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp

Dough: makes 12 (you’ll probably want just half the recipe for your family)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IEdLdyFlbjo

After 1 hrs dough raising, create 12 balls and let rest 10 min then flatten into about a 8in circle with a roller on a flour dusted countertop.  Spread filling on half.  Fold in half and seal with water.

Pat them flat using a little flour.

Fry both sides until golden brown in a pan with a good coating of olive oil (about 1/4 to 1/2 C) on medium high heat (can clean out pan as flour turns black in pan- just clean and start over)

Sauce I just use the Costco cilantro ranch dressing, but my Afghani friend uses this for her dip:

Green tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, mint, in food processor then add a dollop of plain yogurt and salt.

Dessert - 

Chocolate Silk pie with Hazelnut Oreo crust

Rachel's pumpkin spice donuts

(Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13min) 

Ingredients: 

2 2/3 c. all-purpose flour 

1 t. baking powder 

1 t. baking soda 

1 t. salt 

¾ c. sugar 

½ c. milk 

½ c. sour cream 

2 eggs 

1 can pumpkin (canned, not the one for the pies) 

1 t. vanilla extract 

1 t. ground cinnamon 

1 t. ground nutmeg 

½ t. ground ginger 

½ t. ground all spice 

½ t. ground cloves 

Icing/Glaze: 

1 c. powdered sugar 

4-5 T. milk 

½ t. vanilla 

Cinnamon Sugar sprinkled on top 

Instructions: 

1.Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl 

2. Add Milk, sour cream, and eggs. Mix well. 

3. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and spices. 

4. Mix until well blended. 

Spray Donut pan with vegetable or olive oil spray. Fill the donut cavities ½- ¾ way full. DON’T FILL TO THE TOP. Bake at 350 degrees for 11-13 minutes. Let cool slightly before icing. Dip donut into the icing then immediately sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Enjoy!

Homemade Cinnamon Ice cream 

2 cups milk 1 3/4 cups sugar Stir together and then microwave in a glass bowl for 3 minutes – to scald the milk. Cool in the fridge for about 1/2 hour if you want the ice cream to mix more quickly in your ice cream freezer. If you don’t cool it first – it takes about 30 extra minutes to freeze the ice cream (and more ice). Add 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 1 tablespoon vanilla 5 cups cream 1 ½ T Cinnamon 

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into your ice cream freezer. 

Place everything in your freezer and add about 1-1/2” of ice cubes then about 2 or 3 tablespoons of rock salt on each side of the freezer until you reach the top – then turn on the Ice Cream freezer. Continue to add ice and salt as needed. Freezing time is about 40 minutes.

Couples Hawaiian Breakfast

Guava Chiffon Syrup:

Cochita Guava Paste (Pasta De Guayava) 14 oz Each (3pk) (Amazon)

Water

Cream

*Melt down the paste on Medium-Low with about 3/4 Cup water per 14 oz package (depends on how thick you want your syrup)

*Pour 1/3 Syrup into a bowl and add approx. ½ - ¾ c. cream (depends on how creamy you want it)

*Layer the two syrups on the pancakes and add a dollop of whipping cream

Pancake Recipe:  

Dry Mix

4 Cups all-purpose Flour

3 T baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 T sugar

To make Pancakes:

1 C pancake mix above

1 egg

1 C milk

1 T melted butter

Brioche French Toast: 

Loaf of Brioche Bread

6 Eggs 

½ T Cinnamon

1 tsp. Vanilla

*Mix eggs, cinnamon, vanilla together and dip bread both sides.  Cook on a hot griddle

Lime Cream Sauce: 

Approx. 8-10 limes (or ¾ c. lime juice)

1 ½ c. sugar

¾ c. water

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Green food coloring

*Dissolve sugar in water over medium heat until sugar is melted.  Add sweetened condensed milk and let cook until desired thickness.  Add ¾ c. lime juice and green food coloring.  

*Pour over French toast and add a dollop of whipping cream

Sweet Potato Eggs Benedict with Kalua Pork:

Purple Sweet potatoes

Kalua Pork

Eggs
Hollandaise sauce

Poached Eggs for Eggs Benedict

add enough water to a large pan so that the eggs will have about an inch of water covering them, add about 3/4 C. of vinegar to the water.  Heat the water to the point where it almost begins to boil, then crack the eggs gently into the boiling water.  Let cook until the whites are no longer clear and there is a bit of jiggle still for a soft yolk.

Hollandaise Sauce:

3 egg yolks

¼ tsp Dijon

¼ tsp salt

1 Tbsp Lemon juice

Dash of cayenne pepper

Dash of paprika

Blend all ingredients for about 5 seconds in a blender

Melt ½ C. butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave (watch that it melts all the way but doesn’t explode). Turn blender on high and slowly pour in the butter (just a very small and steady stream). The butter still needs to be very hot when you add it so as to slightly cook the egg. Serve immediately. To keep it warm you can place the container of Hollandaise in a pot with hot water in it. Unfortunately Hollandaise sauce cannot be saved and reheated, it separates. 

Portuguese Sausage-  I found this at Walmart in Centerville, next to the hot dogs, on the bottom of the shelf.  I just cut it up and put it in a frying pan for a few minutes, it's pre-cooked so it doesn't need much time to brown a bit.  It looks like this

Doughnut Holes tossed in lemon/vanilla/poppy seed sugar, and coffee/banana/coconut sugar from the Doughnutery in New York

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/vermont-doughnut-holes-recipe

Coconut Pudding
https://selfproclaimedfoodie.com/homemade-coconut-pudding/

Coconut Syrup

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup butter

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp coconut flavoring

Bring to boil, take off heat add vanilla or coconut flavoring.