Monday, November 30, 2015

Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
4 cloves garlic
1 yellow onion
4 carrots
4 stalks celery
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups lentils
1 tablespoons cumin
2 qt. vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
2 whole sprigs thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
*
Directions:
Set a large dry dutch oven over medium heat and drop in the garlic cloves with their peels still on.  Let them toast for a few minutes on each side, until the skins are browned and fragrant, and set aside.

Roughly chop the onion, carrots, and celery.  Add the olive oil to the dutch oven and sauté until browned and tender.

Peel and smash up the garlic and add it back to the pot along with the lentils and cumin.  Cook for a few seconds until the lentils are nicely coated in oil.  Empty the broth into the pot and add the Bay leaf and whole sprigs of thyme.  Simmer until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.  Fish out the bay leaf and thyme.

Season with salt and pepper and serve piping hot.  We like the soup on its own but it's kind of amazing with a little extra.  Stir in some spinach or add a little diced ham and definitely serve it with a big side of hearty whole grain bread or cheesy croutons.                                                        

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Stats of Dine With Donna

If you wonder what is available to me when I check my statistics daily, I see how many people have used a recipe from my blog, and I see the top ten viewed all time.  Another option is to see what was share from the day.  This graph is my all time high "hits".

Posts 

EntryPageviews
Feb 28, 2008
4700
Nov 30, 2010
3433
2139
1382
Feb 19, 2009, 3 comments
1375
Oct 16, 2013
1060
877
819
750
Jul 5, 2010
593

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Italian Sausage Breakfast Bread Pudding With Provolone Cheese, Fresh Tomatoes and Basil

Italian Sausage Breakfast Bread PuddingWith 
Provolone Cheese, Fresh Tomatoes And Basil
Serves 8 to 10.
Ingredients:
1 lb. Italian pork sausage
10 cups cubed day old or toasted French or Italian bread (1 lb.)
2 cups grated Provolone cheese
6 T. chopped fresh basil, divided use
10 eggs slightly beaten
4 cups half and half or whole milk
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. onion powder
Fresh ground pepper to taste
3/4 cup diced seeded plum tomatoes
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Break up the sausage into chunks and cook, stirring and breaking into small pieces, for 8 minutes or until sausage is well browned and cooked through. Remove to a strainer to drain off excess fat.

Place bread cubes in a well-buttered 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with cheese and 4 T. fresh basil. Whisk the eggs, milk, dry mustard, onion powder and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour evenly over the bread and cheese. Sprinkle sausage over the top. Let rest for 15 minutes before baking. (Casserole may be covered and refrigerated overnight at this point.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with tomatoes and then Parmesan cheese and continue baking for 15 minutes or until casserole is set. Immediately sprinkle with remaining 2 T. basil. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork in the Slow Cooker 
Ingredients:
2 1/2-3 lb pork butt (also known as a pork shoulder)
24 oz. (2 cans) Dr. Pepper
1 medium onion, cut in quarters and then again in half
2 garlic cloves, minc
ed
1 1/2 teaspoons dry ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
Barbecue Sauce of choice

Place the chopped onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the pork butt on top of the onions and add the garlic, ground mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Pour the Dr. Pepper on top and cook on high for 4-5 hours (or on low for 8 hours).
Very carefully, because the pork will be hot, remove the meat from the slow cooker and place on a large cutting board. Using two forks, shred the pork by pulling away from each other. The meat should be very tender by this point. Place the shredded pork back into the slow cooker and continue to cook for an additional hour.
Drain the remaining juices and toss the meat and onion mixture in the barbecue sauce of choice. I don't have an exact amount listed-just add a bit at a time until you get to your desired sauciness!

Focaccia

Focacccia
(For Bread Machine)
Recipe of Cathy Luppino Spayde
Ingredients:
1 cup Water
1/3 cup Olive oil
2 teaspoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Bread Flour
1 1/2 teaspoon Yeast
Program: Dough

Add at the beep
1 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning


Garlic-Cheese Topping
1/4 cup Olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano
1 tablespoon garlic, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon salt

Greek Style Topping:
1/4 cup Olive oil
1 cup onion, thinely sliced
1 teaspoon dried organo
1/3 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup black olives
1/4 teaspoon salt
*
Directions:
With oiled hands, event press dough into greased 9 X 13" pan.  Using your finger tips make indentations in the dough.

Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until almost double in size.  While the dough is rising, select the topping and prepare.

In a skillet, heat olive oil.  
For the Garlic-Cheese topping, stir in oregano and garlic, then immediately remove from heat.  
For Greek Topping, add onions and cook until onions are soft but not brown, approximately 5 minutes.

Use fingers to press dimples into dough again.  Spoon topping mixture evenly over the dough.  Sprinkle with remaining ingredients.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until done.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Easy Dinner Roll Recipe

Easy Dinner Rolls Recipe
"Even the beginner cook can make these. And they're true home-made rolls. They must chill 2 hours. Or you can make them up 3 days in advance."
Ingredients
1 cup water ( 110 degrees F)
2 packages yeast ( Do not use the quick rising in this recipe)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
4 1/4 cups flour
*
Directions
Combine water and yeast in lg bowl; let stand for 5 minutes.
With wooden spoon, stir in butter, sugar, eggs and salt.
Add flour, 1 cup at a time and beat in as much as you can.
(you will probably be able to use all the flour) Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 3 days.
Grease a 13x9 baking pan.
Turn dough out onto floured surface.
Divide into 24 equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a smooth round ball.
Place in rows in prepared pan.
Cover and let rise for 1 hour; until doubled.
Heat oven to 375*.
Bake until golden brown, about 17 minutes.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Healthy Apple Tart

Healthy Apple Tart
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400º F.
Place all your sliced apples in a large bowl and pour lemon juice over the top. Toss thoroughly to make sure apples get coated and won’t turn brown.
In a separate small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Sprinkle sugar mixture over the apples and toss again to coat well.

Take your puff pastry sheet and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to form a 12-inch circle.

Transfer pastry to 9 or 10-inch pie dish and trim off excess.

Arrange apple slices in concentric circles, starting from the middle and working your way out.

Place pie dish in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden and apples are tender.

Remove from oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before serving.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Carrot Cake


Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted with a shredding a blade or use a box grater)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)*
1/2 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs
*
For the Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract (I omitted this and replaced it with 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract)
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)
Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)
*
Directions:
FOR THE CAKE
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

FOR THE FROSTING
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.

 If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.


TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE
 Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

TO SERVE THE CAKE
This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.

Notes:
The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.
from Dorie Greenspan


Monday, November 23, 2015

Make Ahead Garlic Mashed Potatoes


Make Ahead Garlic Mashed Potatoes 
Serves 8 to 10.
Ingredients:
5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
10 large cloves garlic, peeled (or simply leave this out for the traditional style) 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut in 8 pieces
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces and softened
1 1/2 to 2 cups sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste

*
Directions:
1. Place potatoes and optional garlic cloves in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and add 1 teaspoon salt to the water. Cook potatoes until fork tender, about 15 minutes longer.

2. Place butter, cream cheese and 1 cup sour cream in the bottom of a large bowl. Drain potatoes and garlic and let air dry for 5 minutes. Press potatoes and garlic through a ricer into the bowl on top of the other ingredients. Stir to combine until smooth adding more sour cream as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Mashed potatoes may be served immediately or transferred to a buttered 4- quart casserole. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate, covered with foil, for up to 48 hours. Bake, covered, at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes or until very hot.