Mom's Strawberry Jam

Mom's Strawberry Jam

4 cups of strawberries
4 cups sugar
Juice of half a lemon
1 piece powdered alum (size of a pea)
1 tablespoon butter (reduces foaming)

Combine ingredients and bring to a hard boil that can't be stirred down. Boil for 10 minutes.

It is better to do two small batches keeping the same proportions if you have more than 5-6 cups of berries.

Put in a large container and let stand overnight. Stir occasionally.

Place in jars the next morning. Label and freeze.

FLAT BREAD

FLATBREAD

Ingredients:

¼ cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees F)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

½ cup room-temperature water

3¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

¼ cup Clarified butter at room temperature

Canola oil

Extra virgin olive oil

Maldon salt or fleur de sel

Piment d’Espelette

Directions:

Combine the warm water and yeast in a small bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes, then stir to dissolve the yeast. Mix the egg with the water and stir to combine with the yeast mixture.

Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter, followed by the egg mixture, and mix until the dough comes together on the hook.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth. Fold the edges under to form a round dough. Lightly oil a large bowl with canola oil and put the dough in the bowl. Brush a piece of plastic wrap with canola oil and press it directly onto the surface of the dough. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Position the oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and brush with olive oil.

Open the rollers of a pasta machine to the widest setting and flour the rollers. Cut the dough in quarters. Work with one quarter at a time, keeping the other pieces covered so they do not dry out.  Lightly flour the piece of dough and, using the heel of your hand, press the dough down to a rectangle about ½ inch thick. Trim off one end so there is a straight edge, and roll the dough through the machine. Roll again through the widest setting. Continue to roll the dough twice through each setting, lightly flouring it as needed to keep it from sticking, until it is paper-thin; we roll ours to the second-to-last setting.

The piece of dough will be about 36 inches long. Trim the ends. Cut lengthwise in half and the cut crosswise in half to make 4 sheets about 3 inches by 15 inches. Place 3 sheets on one of the lined baking sheets, and roll out a second piece of dough. (If you don’t have three baking sheets, put the extra sheets of dough on a sheet of parchment paper until ready to bake.)

Brush the flatbreads lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with Maldon salt and if using, piment d’Espelette. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, switching the position of the pans and rotating them halfway through baking, until crisp and golden. Let the flatbreads cool on the pans on cooling racks.

Repeat with the remaining dough. Leave the breads whole or break into pieces and serve. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Makes 16 sheets of flatbread 15 inches by 3 inches.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cups butter (2 sticks)
2 cups flour (240g)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cups granulated sugar
1 cups brown sugar
2 1/2 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal and blend in blender to a fine powder)
12 oz. chocolate chips
1/2  tsp. salt
1 4 oz. Hershey bar (grated)
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla

Pre-Heat oven to 350
Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet..

Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes 60 cookies.

Spicy Chicken Tagine with Apricots, Rosemary and Ginger

Spicy Chicken Tagine with Apricots, Rosemary and Ginger

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons olive oil with a pat of butter

1 onion, finely chopped

3 sprigs rosemary, 1 finely chopped the other two cut in half

1 ½ inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 red chilies, seeded and finely chopped

1-2 cinnamon sticks

8 chicken thighs

¾ cup dried apricots

2 tablespoons of clear honey

1 14 ounce can plum tomatoes with their juice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Small bunch of fresh green or purple basil leaves

Directions:

Heat the oil and butter in a tagine or heavy based casserole dish. Stir in the onion, chopped rosemary, ginger and chilies and sauté until the onion begins to soften. Stir in the halved rosemary sprigs and the cinnamon sticks. Add the chicken thighs and brown them on both sides. Toss in the apricots with the honey, and then stir in the plum tomatoes with their juice. (Add a little water if necessary, to ensure there is enough liquid to cover the base of the tagine and submerge the apricots.) Bring the liquid to a boil, and then reduce the heat. Cover with a lid and cook gently for 35-40 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Shred the larger basil leaves and leave the small ones intact. Sprinkle them over the chicken and serve the dish immediately.

Note: You can substitute chicken breast for thigh but adjust cooking times accordingly especially if the chicken breasts are large.

Easy Bearnaise Sauce

Easy Bearnaise Sauce

Directions:

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• aggressive pinch of salt
• pepper (optional)
• 2 egg yolks
• 6 ounces salted butter
• 2 tablespoons minced tarragon (or more to taste)

1. Combine the lemon juice, shallot, salt, and pepper in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup or other container with a narrow base.  Let it sit for a few minutes.
2. Add the egg yolks and give it a buzz with the hand blender (if you’re blade doesn’t reach the yolk, use the whisk attachment).
3. Melt the butter in a one-cup measuring cup with a spout or some other container that will allow you to pour the butter in a stream. Make sure it’s piping hot.
4. With the hand blender running, pour the butter into the egg yolks, pumping the blender up and down (or side to side if using whisk) as you do so.  Add half the tarragon and continue to blend.  Stop and fold in the remaining tarragon.

Makes about 1 cup

Lasagna (Lorraine Harvey's)

 Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound hamburger
1 6 once can tomato paste
1 29 ounce can tomato puree
1 package spaghetti sauce mix
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese plus a little milk
2 packages of mozzarella cheese (shredded)
1/2 box of lasagna
Parmesan Romano cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Brown the meat in sauce pan in olive oil. When the meat has been cooked add the tomato puree, the tomato paste and the spaghetti sauce mix. Simmer for one hour.

Place the cream cheese in a bowl and add a tablespoon of milk. Beat with a mixer or whisk until creamy. You may need to add a bit more milk if the cream cheese is too stiff.

Assembly:
In a 9x17 baking dish create the following layers:

• layer of tomato sauce
• layer of lasagna
• layer of mozzarella
• layer of sauce
• layer of whipped cream cheese
• layer of lasagna
• layer of mozzarella
• little bit of sauce for the top
• sprinkle Parmesan over the top

Bake 30 - 40 minutes at 325 degrees.

Green Garlic Soup (Blue Ribbon Artisan Pizza)

Green Garlic Soup Yield: 4 servings 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 2 bunches green garlic—whites only, cleaned and chopped 2 leeks—whites only, cleaned and chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 Yukon Gold potato, peeled and chopped 1/2 cup cream 2 quarts water Salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano 2 tablespoons chives, chopped Chili oil Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the garlic, leeks and onion and cook until they are very soft. Add the potato, cream and water. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Transfer the mixture to a blender and purée until smooth. Pass the mixture through a strainer. To serve, place the soup in bowls and garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano, chives and chili oil.