Crepes-truly the best recipe I have found It is our tradition that every New Year we (my husband and I) make crepes, be they dessert crepes or savory. Until recently I have leaned towards one crepe recipe, however This year I wanted to make crepes during the summer and I had only one cup of milk in the freezer so I looked for a crepe recipe that uses one cup of milk. In my search I stumbled across this crepe recipe from an old Sunday New York Times magazine that I had kept (see it pays to keep the junk you love). Since my find, this summer, I have made this recipe twice. You can eat these crepes without anything on them-literally. They are delicious. This recipe consists of crepes, fruit, carmelized sugar, and ice cream Note: You can make the crepes in a non stick 7-8 inch frying pan or you can use a French crepe pan of the same size. I have used non stick however for $10-$12 dollars the French crepe pan is almost foolproof. If you do use a French crepe pan then don’t use the pan for anything else (that’s the French method-so they say). I just wipe the pan clean And hang it up. So far it’s worked beautifully. 1 cup milk (preferably whole milk) 1 tablespoon Amaretto liquor or ¼ -½ tsp. almond extract (could use vanilla or any other flavor that you like) (if using extract and not liquor you will need one more tbspn of milk) ¾ cup flour 3 eggs – lightly beaten 3 tablespoon butter – melted (use microwave oven on 20-30 seconds- the butter should not be hot but just melted) 1 tablespoon sugar (if you have vanilla sugar you can use it) ½ tsp salt sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Stir in sugar. In center of flour mixture add eggs and using a fork, combine flour with eggs. Stir in the milk till combined. Do not pour the milk in all at once try to combine at a steady stream. You are trying to remove as many lumps of flour as possible. Add the butter and liquor or the extract (don’t forget the tablespoon of milk if using extract). Use a whisk if you need to remove as many of the flour lumps as you can. Let the mixture sit at least 30 minutes. You can put in refrigerator in the morning and use at night or you can make the day before. When measuring the amount of batter needed to make the crepe use a little less than ¼ cup measure. Season your pot with a bit of butter pour in the batter, swirl around till batter covers the bottom of pan. You don’t need much butter for the pan – I believe that the amount of butter and eggs in the batter takes away the need for a lot of butter. Place the crepes on plate lined with wax paper or plastic wrap. You may freeze the crepes if you wish or make them ahead if you wish. This makes approximately 10-15 crepes. The fruit You can use any fruit or combination (apples, pears, plums would all be nice) – here is what I used: 3 peaches – juicy, ripe, two white, one yellow – sliced off the pit into ¼ inch, or so size ½ cup to ¾ cup blueberries, ½ pint fresh raspberries butter – as needed cinnamon a pinch of salt in a heated sauté pan add the butter. Add peaches in one layer and cook till a bit soft, not mushy but not raw either. Sprinkle with cinnamon and pinch of sugar. Place in a bowl and mix in the blueberries and raspberries. Place aside. (can be made a day ahead) When ready to make the crepes to serve make the caramelized sugar with: ½ cup sugar 1 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoons grand mariner In a frying pan sprinkle sugar, evenly, over the bottom of pan. Heat till sugar begins to melt. Roll melted sugar over unmelted sugar till all is melted – let the sugar get a bit of brown color adds the butter mix together. I added a bit of water to this mixture because I felt it was a bit thick for what I wanted to do. Assembly- make sure the ice cream is in the consistency you want. We used Baskin and Robbins French vanilla – it’s up to you what flavor you want to use. Make sure crepes are at least at room temperature. Heat the fruit that you made in a microwave oven. Take the crepe, one at a time and place in pan with caramelized sugar so that one side of the crepe is bathed in the syrup. Add a bit of the fruit mixture in the middle of crepe and fold crepe, in half over the fruit. Do the same for another crepe. You will now have two crepes folded in half filled with Fruit. Cook for a few minutes, till crepes are relatively hot. Sprinkle crepes with the grand marnier. Cook a minute more. Place on plate. Scoop Ice cream on top of crepe and you can decorate with a few raspberries, if you wish. Serve with champagne or a Nice white wine or even a dessert wine. speak to you soon. pi

ELLEN’S BLUEBERRY HILL Anonymous said... Here is a recipe my wonderful sister-in-law gave me (hope you enjoy it): ELLEN’S BLUEBERRY HILL 2 PACKAGES PLAIN LADY FINGERS 1 LB. CREAM CHEESE (ROOM TEMPERATURE) 3/4 CUP SUGAR 3 TEASPOONS VANILLA 1 PINT HEAVY CREAM BLUEBERRY (OR CHERRY) PIE FILLING WHIP HEAVY CREAM IN A CHILLED BOWL - SET ASIDE IN THE REFRIGERATOR. SOFTEN CREAM CHEESE, ADD SUGAR AND VANILLA - BLEND TOGETHER. FOLD IN WHIPPED CREAM. LINE LADY FINGERS INTO SPRING-BACK PAN (AROUND THE RIM AND AROUND THE MIDDLE RING). POUR (ACTUALLY IT DOES NOT POUR ) "MIXTURE" IN AND SMOOTH DOWN A LITTLE. ADD THE FILLING (EITHER BLUEBERRY OR CHERRY) ON TOP. REFRIGERATE FOR AT LEAST 1 HOUR BEFORE SERVING speak to you soon. pi

Corn Bread - Delicious Thank you - anonymous left this great corn bread recipe. I know about this recipe and let me tell you this is truly the best - it's moist, spicy and is gobbled up in one seating, yummy!!!!!!! People can't seem to keep their hands away. It is truly different Anonymous said: I wanted to share with your readers my recipe for spicy cornbread which never fails to please and makes a good appetizer or side dish: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 13 x 9 pan. Mix in this order: 2/3 cup safflower oil 2 eggs beaten lightly 24 oz. sour cream 16 oz canned creamed corn 2 tablespoons minced or grated onion 2 tablespoons chopped green pepper (I use sweet read pepper) 2 jalapeno peppers chopped fine (note: use disposable gloves when handling the jalapeno peppers) 1-1/2 cups yellow cornmeal 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese Mix oil, eggs, sour cream and creamed corn together. Add onion and peppers. Mix dry ingredients separately in a larger bowl. Pour liquid ingredients into dry and mix quickly leaving a few lumps. Pour 1/2 batter into prepared pan. Spread 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Pour over rest of the battern and add remaining cheese on top. Bake 45 minutes. speak to you soon. pi

Today's recipes Simple Tomato Salad several very good tomatoes - 3 or more - sliced in half rounds approximately 1/4 inch thick 1 red onion - sliced paper thin in half rounds and separated basil - as much as you like - I use a good handfuls for 3 tomatoes olives - calamari or green (from jar is okay) avocado-thinly sliced garlic powder or garlic clove salt and pepper balsamic vinegar olive oil place all sliced tomatoes, onion, avocado, and olives in a serving platter. Make vinaigrette, to your taste,from remaining ingredients except the basil. Pour vinaigrette over mixture mix together and let sit about 10 or more minutes. This allows the avocado to blend a bit with the rest of the ingredients. Shred, slice, or cut the basil and toss in salad. All done. Game Hens with Honey, Vinegar and Spice I got this recipe from Bon appetite several years ago. This is reminiscent of Spain. It is quite simple to make but elegant. It calls for 8 cornish game hens but you do not need to make that many. 8 1 1/2 lb cornish hens 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 cup Sherry wine vinegar 1/2 cup honey 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1 1/2 tspn aniseed 3/4 tspn ground cinnamon salt and pepper Preheat oven to 400 F. Clean hens, dry them and if you like, but don't have to tie legs together (this is for appearance only). Put a rack in roasting pan place hens on it. Separately make the glaze by adding all the remaining ingredients in a pan and simmering for a few moments till it gets a bit syrupy due to the honey. Brush hens with glaze, salt and pepper the hens. The remaining glaze will be used for basting. Roast in oven till juices run clear and you can easily shake the drumstick. Baste every 10 minutes or so cook for about 55 minutes. done - serve food for thought - Although this recipe is for 8 the amount of glaze should be doubled. Any extra goes towards the basting. Even if you cut the recipe in half the glaze should not be cut in half. You are looking for a bronze color finish to the hens - the glaze gives you that because it has the honey. Also don't cut corners by substituting the spices or the vinegar. You can add to it but you should not take away it's essence. It is a Spain dish. Not something else. The Sherry vinegar and cumin are really what makes it work. with your fingers. speak to you soon. pi

Hi Thought I would share a few recipes with you today. One is a real favorite because it's easy to make and can be really low fat - that's my asparagus soup. The other is an old, easy recipe that sounds weird but people and kids usually love. It makes for a great hors d'Oeuvre or is good over egg noodles. That recipe is for sweet and sour meatballs. I was speaking with someone today and the conversation reminded me of this last recipe, which I haven't made in years. It was given to me many years ago and it was for a Puerto Rican Pork Chop/Eggplant recipe. Really great for the winter. My husband melts for this one. ASPARAGUS SOUP Easy soup to make and low fat. 1 tablespoon butter 1 small onion, chopped 1 tablespoon all purpose flour 2 14 1/2-ounce cans chicken broth 1 pound asparagus, tough ends discarded, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 teaspoon dried summer savory Sour cream or plain yogurt (optional) Melt 1 tablespoon butter in soup pan, over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender and translucent. Add flour and stir 2 minutes. Mix in chicken broth. Bring to boil. Add asparagus pieces and summer savory and cook till the asparagus is really soft. Puree asparagus in food processor, or blender, or if use one of the hand blenders. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate. Top with some sour cream or yogurt, if you wish. (I have never done so). This recipe is easily doubled or tripled. You can also leave some of the asparagus whole and you can also leave a few chunks of asparagus - depends on how silky and smooth you want the soup to be. Coffee Granita - Pi's version 2 ½ cups water ½ cup espresso coffee - finely ground 1 teaspoon orange zest 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier ¾ cup sugar or Splenda ½ cup water Whipped cream, chocolate curls and or cookie for garnish Put 2 ½ cups water and ½ cup espresso coffee in saucepan (I doubled these amounts). Bring to a boil. Immediately turn off heat. Strain coffee through filter. Stir sugar or splenda in water with orange zest over low heat till sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil 5 minutes. Mix in strained coffee (2 ½ cups coffee) and Grand Marnier. Put in refrigerator to cool. Pour into loaf pan and place in freezer. When slightly hardened (about 1 hour) rake coffee with a fork to loosen it up, break up the frozen pieces and fluff it up. Put back in freezer. Repeat this procedure every 30 minutes or so to keep the pieces fluffy and frozen. Serve with whipped cream and cookie or chocolate curls. Pork Chops with Eggplant 4-6 Pork Chops 1 Eggplant - washed, sliced in 1/2 inch rounds breadcrumbs egg 2 16 ounce cans tomato sauce 1 small carrot diced garlic clove - crushed olive oil salt and pepper to taste season with salt and pepper at each stage Brown pork chops on both sides in saute pan. No need to add oil if using cast iron pan. Otherwise add a bit of olive oil so that chops don't stick. Just get the chops a bit of color. You are not cooking them. Remove from pan and put aside. Take eggplant rounds, dip in egg wash then in bread crumbs. Saute rounds till brown on both sides. Use olive oil. If you wish you can do this in oven so that you do not use as much oil or you can do this in cast iron pan which will allow you to use less oil. Put rounds on side, when done. In a separate pot, on medium heat, add a bit of olive oil, about a tbsp. and saute carrot then add garlic. Cook about a minute. Do not overcook. Add tomato sauce and season with salt and pepper. If you wish to add other herbs or seasonings (oregano, basil, etc.). By all means go for it. Now back to the saute pan - place pork chops in pan and add at least one eggplant round on top. If all chops do not fit on one level the put the other chops over the first level. Just be sure to have at least one eggplant round or more on top of each chop. Add tomato sauce to pan. Cover and cook on low heat. Cook at least 30 -40 minutes. The chops should be really soft and almost fall off the bone.definitelydefinetly can be made the day before. Tastes great. Especially with a salad vinaigrette. speak to you soon. pi

Hi L: These are the recipes: the first is really delicious and most of it can be made ahead of time however there can be last minute cooking depending on your approach. take a look see: Asian Crab Cakes- this makes enough for about 2 dozen mini cakes for Hor d'oeuvres however if you use this as an appetizer (which I recommend) then you should make them bigger and serve 3 per person. The size being approximately like a flat 2-2 1/2 inch diameter disc. - 8 ounces lump crabmeat (preferably jumbo) - 2 scallions - finely chopped - 2 tbsp soy sauce - 1 tspn grated lime zest - 1/2 cup + 2 tbspns breadcrumbs (either fresh or Panko i used panko) - 1/2 cup flour - 1/4 cup mayonnaise plus 3 tbspns for garnish - 2 tspns wasabi paste - 2 large eggs - at least 1/4 cup sesame seeds will probably need more - oil - seedless cucumber for garnish -in a bowl separate and fluff crabmeat, add 1/4 cup mayonnaise, scallions, soy sauce, lime zest, and 1/2 tsp wasabi. mix together, cover, place in fridge for at least an hour and can be overnight. -set up 3 separate bowls. In one put in flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, in the other put in eggs with 1 tbspn water and mix together, in the third bowl combine sesame seeds and 1/2 cup breadcrumbs. -if making Hor d'oeuvres then form your crabmeat mixture sized by a tablespoon dip in the flour and flatten them into discs,size them into 1-1 1/4 inch. if you are making an appetizer then visually size it so that when you flatten them after dipping in the flour you will have approximately 2 to 2 1/2 inches discs/balls. -dip floured discs into egg mixture then into breadcrumb sesame seed mixture. I have found that it is best to set the cakes up in advance and to let them rest. It can be made the night before, lined up and in the fridge. -mix the remaining wasabi paste and mayonnaise and set aside. This is a garnish to the cakes. you can also make ribbons out of the cucumber with a peeler to be served atop the cakes for garnish or on the side of the plate as part of the presentation. -heat oil in frying pan and saute the cakes, over medium heat,till golden and crisp. a couple of minutes per side. you can serve these hot or after completely cooled. Hot they are delicious- but you can choose to do it either way. The second recipe is for a citrus type of shrimp cocktail/finger food that can served as finger food in advance the dinner or if you want you could conceivable make it as an appetizer. It has unusual ingredients but is quite good. Pacific shrimp-makes approximately 5 cups -1 1/2 lb shrimp cleaned -2 oranges peeled and sectioned -1 cup thawed frozen small onions -1 tomato cut into slices -3/4 cup vinegar -1/3 cup salad oil -1/3 cup lemon juice -1/4 cup ketchup -1 tbsp capers -1 tbsp parsley-chopped -1 clove crushed garlic -1 tspn sugar -1 tspn mustard seed -1/2 tspn celery seed -pepper to taste -add shrimp to boiling water and cook shrimp till just done. Do not overcook just till they turn pink. Place shrimp with oranges, tomatoes, and onions in bowl -add remaining ingredients in separte bowl and mix. pour this mixture over shrimp and place in fridge overnight. -you can serve shrimp drained and skewered, as is with the ingredients, and let people pick them or you can also serve over skewered or plated on lettuce as an appetizer. speak to you soon. pi

hi I would like to make this part of the blog a place where we can exchange recipes that we either have, created or whatever. I have a whole arsenal of recipes that I have accumulated that I will start to put up at a later date. Anyone who wishes to exchange recipes (something like the cookie exchange concept) is really welcome everyone gets credit for their contributions. speak to you soon.