Flemings Potatoes Au Gratin

                                                                                                                  

My daughter Macie made these and they are delicious!!!

3 Tbsp. jalapeños

4 oz. leeks

1-1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1-1/2 oz. butter, lightly salted

2 cups heavy cream

1-1/2 cups half & half

4 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

4 oz. jack cheese, grated

3 lbs. Idaho russet potatoes

Instructions:

Remove seeds from jalapeños and dice finely. Cut ends off leeks. Dice the bottom 3 inches of leeks into 1/2-inch pieces.

Place butter in large sauce pot set on medium high heat. Add jalapeños, leeks, salt and pepper, sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add cream and half & half and bring to a simmer. When cream is hot, pull off stove, add both cheeses and blend in thoroughly.

Peel potatoes and slice thinly. Spray sides and bottom of a 9” x 13” baking dish with pan coating. Evenly distribute the potatoes and sauce in the pan.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350° F for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes till top is a dark, golden brown. Macie had to cook these 2 hours. See note*

*Note: I am going to cook my potatoes in the microwave first because it will cut down on the baking time in the oven. I will cook them whole, with the peel on, 3 minutes on each side. Using a fork, I will then skin them, while hot and slice them. I will also cook my cheese sauce a little longer so it will be thicker when I put it on the potatoes.

Evelyn’s Easy Cheese Bread Bites

1 cream cheese, softened and cut in tiny pieces

1 c sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 ¼ c Pioneer Buttermilk Baking Mix

½ small can of onion rings, crumbled

Mix the cheddar and the cream cheese in a food processor until slightly incorporated. Add the onion rings. Add the baking mix. Mix slightly until baking mix is incorporated.  You can roll into 2 inch sticks, chill the dough after it has been rolled into a log and slice into thin wafer shapes. Bake in a 400 degree pre-heated oven until slightly browned. I have also just pinched off small amounts, rolled into tiny stick shapes and baked.

Artisan Bread Bowls

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk

2 teaspoons yeast

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons oil

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, enough to make smooth, soft dough

Let yeast dissolve in warm water until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients—by hand, mixer or bread machine— and knead till you’ve created smooth dough.

Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 45 minutes; it should become puffy. Divide the dough into 5-6 pieces, depending on how large you want your bread bowl to be. Roll each piece into a ball. Place on a lightly greased or parchment covered baking sheet.

Cover the bread bowls with greased plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours (or up to 24 hours); this step will give the bread bowls extra flavor, and a delightfully crisp-chewy texture. Two or more hours before serving, remove the bread bowls from the refrigerator. Uncover, and let them sit for about one hour while you preheat the oven to 425°F.

Just before baking, slash the top surface of the bowls several times with a sharp knife to allow them to expand. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes, until the bowls are deep brown, and sound hollow when thumped on the bottom. Remove from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Arepas

                                                                                                                                           

This is Venezuelan fast food. The arepas can be filled with eggs, meats or vegetables.

Thanks Sofia!

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

You put about a cup of very hot water in a bowl and then add the P.A.N. , pre-cooked white corn meal, little by little as you mix it with the water. Add a teaspoon of salt and 1/3 c oil. If you add it all at once it will take longer and be lumpy.  Let it sit for five minutes so that it has the consistency of play dough but a bit softer.

Once you have it right, you roll the mix into a golf balls then start to flatten the balls into a disc shape. If the edges crack a lot then you have to add more water to the mix and start over, but a little cracking is okay.

Get a pan, heat it up and add butter then cook the arepas so that the outside is crunchy, a few of minutes on each side.

Place the arepas in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes. You’ll know when they’re ready when you take them out of the oven if you pat them on top and they sound hollow.

Red Velvet Bon Bons

                                                                                                                                          

                        

1 box red velvet cake mix

1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)

1 package chocolate bark (dark and white chocolate)

Bake in a 13x 9 pan according to box directions.

After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl. Mix thoroughly. Using hands, use 1 can cream cheese frosting and add to the crumbled cake. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.) Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm.