Monday, November 21, 2011

Cornell Chicken Barbecue Sauce

1 cup of oil (I use canola oil)
2 cups of cider vinegar
3 tablespoons of salt
1 tablespoon of poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 egg

1. Put everything in a blender and blend.

2. Pour the sauce over the chicken and marinate. I usually marinate a couple of hours before I start cooking but others marinate for up to 24 hours.

3. Remove the chicken and grill it, basting every 5 or 10 minutes with the sauce you marinated the chicken in.

If you're grilling keep the chicken on one side of the grill. away from heavy flames.

http://kitchenography.typepad.com/my_weblog/ taken from this blog.

Vegetable Lazagna Alfredo Sauce (Recipe from Lynn Hopkins)

2 jars (15 oz.) Bertoli Alfredo Sauce
1/2 C. finely chopped onion
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 T. butter
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium zucchini squash
1 C. sliced fresh mushrooms
3 T. Olive oil
15 oz. ricotta cheese
1/3 lb mozzarella cheese
3/4 C. grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 C. chopped fresh parsley
12 lazagna noodles - uncooked

Sauce
Saute onions and garlic in butter until tender in medium frying pan.  Heat Alfredo sauce in medium saucepan - add onions and garlic and mix well.
Vegetables
Juliene peppers and squashes (not too thin); slice mushrooms.  In meium frying pan, saute vegetables and mushrooms in olive oil until just tender - do not over cook.  Set aside in two equal portions.
Filling
In medium mixing bowl, grate mozzarella cheese, add ricota, egg and parsley.  Mix well.
Putting it Together - Layer 1
Ladle a small amount of sauce on the bottom of a 9"x13" Pyrex dish, cover bottom. 
Place 4 noodles on bottom of dish.
Place half of the vegeies evenly over the noodles.
Spoon a little less than 1/3 of the sauce over the vegetables.
Spoon 1/3 of the cheese mixture over the sauce, smooth evenly over the surface.
Sprinkle 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese evnly over the top of the cheese mixture.
Putting it Together -Layer 2
Place 4 noodles to form the second layer.
Place last half of the vegeies evenly over the noodles.
Spoon a little less than 1/3 of the sauce over the vegetables.
Spoon 1/3 of the cheese mixture over the sauce, smooth evenly over the surface.
Sprinkle 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese evenly over the top of the cheese mixture.
Putting it Together -Layer 3
Place 4 noodles to form the last layer.  Spoon the rest of the sauce over the noodles - Since we're using uncooked noodles, you need a little extra sauce here to cover the noodles really well.
Spoon last of the cheese mixture over the sauce, smooth evenly over the surface.
Sprinkel 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese evenly over the top of the cheese mixture.

Cover with aluminum foil (use a bit of Pam on the foil so it doesn't stick to the lasagna). 
Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake an additional 25 minutes so cheese is lightly browned.
Remove from oven and cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

*Make the lasagna the night before you plan to serve if using uncooked noodles.  Take it out of the refrigerator 1/2 hours before baking.
Homemade Twix Bars

adapted from Sherry Yard’s, “Desserts By The Yard”

Shortbread

5 1/2 ounces (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground rice (rice processed in a spice grinder until it is able to pass through a fine sieve to remove chunks)*

Make the Shortbread:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-X-13-inch baking pan with pan spray and line with parchment paper. Spray the parchment.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add the flour, ground rice and salt and allow the dough to come together. The dough will be crumbly but should hold together when you squeeze it.

Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the baking pan. Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back and bake for another 10 minutes, until the shortbread is a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack to room temperature.

*Several people have asked about the rice. I just used what I had in the house – brown rice, and the results were great. It’s not the same as rice flour because you want to have a little bit of texture. The purpose of the rice is to give the base of this cookie a unique crunch that remarkably resembles the store-bought Twix. This can be omitted without drastically changing the finished product. But I encourage you to try it. I really love the texture it gives.

Meanwhile, prepare the ….

Caramel
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup (Regular corn syrup is fine)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling over the caramel layer

Make the Caramel:

Combine the sugar, golden syrup, water, and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Remove any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan by wiping down the sides with water. You can use your hand or a pastry brush. Place the pot on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Wipe down any stray sugar crystals that appear using a very clean and wet pastry brush. Do not stir from this point on. Keep an eye on the pan. The mixture will be very bubbly.

When the sugar syrup starts to turn golden brown insert a candy thermometer to check the temperature. When it reaches 300°F, remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for 1minute, or until the bubbles subside. Carefully whisk in the heavy cream. Stir until smooth, then whisk in the condensed milk. Add the salt (vanilla salt is very nice here if you have it) Whisk until smooth.

Return the pan to the heat and stir constantly over medium heat until the caramel reaches 240°F. Remove from the heat and pour over the shortbread. While the caramel is warm sprinkle the surface with the best quality salt you have. Kosher is fine, Fleur de Sel is better, Maldon would be my preferred choice.

Allow to set. This will take about 2 hours.

Once the caramel layer has cooled prepare your …

Chocolate Glaze

6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (Bittersweet chocolate chips also work)
2 tablespoons butter

Melt the chocolate and butter over a bain marie or in the microwave. If using the microwave melt it slowly – in 30 second intervals. Stir well after each interval.

Once completely melted pour over the caramel. Using an offset spatula, smooth the chocolate in a nice even layer.

Place in the refrigerator to set. They cut best when chilled.  Serve sortly after taking them out of refrig.

Cut into desired shape and size. Serve.
(Where I found the recipe below)
http://notwithoutsalt.com/2010/10/12/homemade-twix-bars/