Holiday Nuggets

Also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies or Russian Tea Cookies, these might be in my top five of cookies. - Matthew

Mix and set aside:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt

In large bowl, mix:
3/4 cup shortening
1:4 cup butter
1/2 cup sifted confectioners sugar

Blend in:
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp almond
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Add flour and salt

Small balls (about 1 tbsp) flatten slightly

Bake 325 - 20-25 minutes

While slightly warm roll in confectioners sugar.

Mom's Orange Chiffon Cake

SUNBURST CHIFFON CAKE

Otherwise known as Mom's Orange Chiffon

 

Preheat oven to 325°.  Sift an ample amount of flour on a square of paper.

 

STEP 1                   Measure and sift together in a bowl:

                  

                   2 cups sifted flour

                   1 ½ cups sugar

                   3 tsp. baking powder

                   1 tsp. salt

 

                   Make a well and add in order:

                  

                   ½ Wesson oil

                   7 unbeaten egg yolks

                   ¾ cup cold water

                   Grated rind of two oranges (3 T.)

                  

                   Beat with spoon until smooth

 

STEP 2                 Measure into large mixing bowl:

 

                   1 cup egg whites (7-8…MEASURE!)

                   ½ tsp. cream of tartar

 

                   Whip until whites form very stiff peaks (much stiffer than for meringue

                   or angel food…DO NOT UNDERBEAT!)

 

STEP 3                  Pour egg yolk mixture gradually over whipped egg whites, gently folding in just

                   until blended.  DO NOT STIR!  Pour into ungreased tube pan immediately.

 

BAKE           30 in. tube pan, 4-in. deep –

                             325° - 55 minutes, then

                             350°- 10 -15 minutes

                   …or until top springs back when lightly touched.

 

Immediately turn pan upside down, placing tube part over neck of funnel or bottle.  Let hang,

free of table, until cold.  Loosen from sides and tube with a spatula, turn pan over and hit edge sharply to loosen.

 

I frost mine with a buttercream frosting that has orange rind added.  OR, you can use…

 

Mom's Orange Butter Yolk Frosting:

 

BLEND 3 T. butter and one egg yolk…stir in 2 T. orange juice, 1 T. grated orange peel and 2 cups sifted powder sugar.

Matthew's Oven Bacon

1. I hate frying bacon because I always burn it. This method takes longer but allows you to control how done the bacon is much easier and tastes amazing.
   
   
   Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
   
   
   Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, then lay the bacon strips flat, making sure pieces do not overlap.
   
   
   
   Bake until crisp and browned, 15 to 18 minutes, or desired doneness, rotating the sheets once. 
   
   
   Transfer strips to a paper towel to drain.
   
   
   Enjoy. Best bacon and healthier.

Chris's Ginger Snaps

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup Turbinado sugar

Put the butter in a bowl and place in a low oven until melted. Blend the melted butter with a whisk and chill in the refrigerator until it is solid but still very soft. Use a measuring cup to portion the butter.

Set a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend the butter and sugars until light, fluffy and whitened. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add this to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Scrape the bowl as required. Wrap the dough in wax paper, plastic or place in a covered bowl and chill in the refrigerator until firm or overnight.

Place about 1 cup of Turbinado sugar in a bowl. When the dough has chilled sufficiently, use a small ice cream or pastry scoop to portion the dough and place into the sugar. Shake the bowl to roll the dough balls around, coating them thoroughly with sugar.

Place the coated dough balls on a baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. With the bottom of a glass, flatten the cookies slightly. Dip the glass in the residual Turbinado sugar if the cookie dough sticks to the bottom of the glass. A faster way to flatten:

After the dough balls are placed on the baking sheet, place a sil-pad over them and with another baking sheet press down to flatten all the dough balls at once.

Bake for about 14 minutes or until the cookies feel slightly firm. The longer the cookies bake, the more crisp they will be. Cool on a wire rack.

Add minced candied ginger to the dough for added texture and spice.

Curt’s Hot Fudge

Ingredients

1 oz/cube Baker’s Chocolate

¾ cup Sugar

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter

2 Tbsp Corn Syrup

Dash of Salt (about ¼ Tsp)

¼ cup Milk

2 Tsp Vanilla

1. Melt Chocolate on stovetop on medium heat
2. Add butter, sugar, corn syrup and salt
3. Blend on Medium
4. After blended, add milk and bring to a boil.
5. While it is boiling, keep checking thickness.  When barely thick, take off the heat.
6. Add Vanilla, blend.
7. Let sit 5-10 minutes, serve over ice cream.

Reitha's Minestrone Soup, Milan Style

Ingredients:
1 Cup kidney beans (canned) (drained)
1 Cup uncooked rice (or barley)
1/2 Cup olive oil
2 #2 cans canned tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
4 Cups chopped spinach (frozen)
2 Pinches sage
Salt and pepper to taste
4 quarts prepared soup stock
2 sliced onions
2 T chopped parsley
4 stalks celery, diced
4 Cups shredded cabbage
4 Cups chopped carrots
1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese

In large pot saute in hot oil garlic, onion & fresh vegatables for 10 mins. Stir. Add rice, beans, salt & pepper and soup stock. Cover. Simmer until beans & rice are tender (approximately 1 to 1-1/2 hours. SERVES 12 to 16.

(NOTE: You can also add meat to the soup. Slices of cooked beef taste great - added by Matthew Revak)

Whole Filet Mignon Roast

Choose a Filet Mignon tenderloin roast. Mine was 5+ lbs., silver skin removed.

Preheat-heat oven to Convection Roast @ 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you uses a non-convection oven preheat to 450. F.

Place the roast on a rack in a large roasting pan.

Using your hands, rub the roast with Canola Oil or Mild Olive Oil.

Make a dry rub of Garlic Powder, McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning or Kosher Salt crystals & Ground Black Pepper. Using your hands, rub the roast with Canola Oil or Mild Olive Oil. Then, using your hands, coat the entire roast with the above dry rub.

Place roast in oven with temperature probe set for 130 degrees internal temperature. Probe should be placed in center of roast halfway through meat. The ends should be medium while the center sections should be medium rare. Since we made this roast way in advance of dinner, we took it out when the probe reached 120 degrees internal temperature and let it rest. Then, placed it back into the 425 degree oven to let the temperature come up to 130 degrees. Before serving, you must let the roast rest for 15 minutes to allow the juices to be retained in the meat. We placed the cut slices of filet into a service warming tray next to heated gravy boat of beef au jus. Since the roast is cooked at such a high temperature, and we were feeding a large group, I opted for packaged au jus gravy to serve with it.

This was a collaborative effort with Kathy, Andy, & Christopher