January's Meeting--ValentineTreats

Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. oreos
1 pkg. cream cheese
2 pks. choc. chips or 1 pkg. of candy melts

Crush the entire package of oreos into fine crumbs. Take out a handful (maybe 1/2 cup) of oreos and set aside. Mix the oreos and softened cream cheese. Once it's mixed well roll into 1" balls and put on a piece of wax paper.

Melt the chocolate chips. (You can also use the colored candy melts for dipping. That way, they are holiday appropriate. I used red candy melts for Valentine's Day, but using the chocolate--semi-sweet or milk is just as good)

Dip the oreo balls into the melted chocolate, put on wax paper, and top with oreo crumbs. Chill in fridge.




Chocolate Chip Cheeseball



1 pkg. cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. powdered sugar
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. vanilla
1/2 bag mini chocolate chips



Cream butter and cream cheese. Add the rest of the ingredients. Optional: Top with crushed graham crackers. Best served with chocolate (preferred) or cinnamon graham sticks. (In this picture, I had to use chocoate graham crackers because the store I went to didn't sell the chocolate sticks, but they're much easier if you can find them.)

November recipes

Butternut Squash Soup

1 pat of butter (about ½ a tablespoon)

1 dollop of olive oil (about ½ a tablespoon)

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 green apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped

4 cups chicken broth

dash each cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper

sour cream as garnish

Heat the oil and butter, then sauté the onion, carrot, and celery about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the squash, apple, chicken broth, and spices and simmer until the squash is soft. Pureee the soup… Serve with a dollop of sour cream in each bowl.

Whole Wheat Bread

Grind 7 1/2 or 8 cups of wheat (it will make about 12 cups of flour)

Put the following in Bosch mixer in the order given:

3 1/2 cups hot water (between 120-130 degrees)

1 (12-oz) can evaporated milk

2/3 cup oil

1 cup honey

1 1/2 T. salt

8 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour

3 T. Vital Wheat Gluten

3 T. yeast

Turn on Momentary switch (M) a few times to mix well

Turn Bosch on Speed 1, and immediately begin to add more flour. Add only until dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl - usually about 3 to 4 more cups. Make sure you don't add too much.

Knead on Speed 1 for about 7 minutes.

Spray pans with Pam (don't use oil - you can use shortening). Oil your hands. Remove dough from mixer onto a lightly oiled counter. Shape into loaves. Cover with a dry towel and let rise until dough is about 2 inches above the pan (about 30 minutes). Preheat oven.

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes. Take one loaf out and check it with a thermometer - it should be 180 to 200 degrees. If not, bake another few minutes.

Take out of oven, brush tops with butter, if desired, remove from pans to cool. Freeze loaves you won't use in one or two days.

November mtg.

Hello fellow food lovers! I'm looking forward to November's recipe club; we'll be making a yummy butternut squash soup- very fall, very healthy, very yummy! This mtg. will be held at my house (Annie Scoresby), on Thurs. 11/9, at 2:30. I live in Westborough apts., off of Kenny and Henderson- turn E. onto Folkestone from Kenny, (Speedway on the corner), then left onto Westborough Dr., #1048. You will probably need to park on the street, either on Folkestone or Mobile. Hope to see you all there, it should be fun. Thanks, Annie

Martha, is that you?!

Q- Thanks for the ideas, they sound delish! Next time I'm stuck for dinner ideas, I'm calling you.

An interloper's thoughts on gnocchi

I know I'm not a member of the afternoon recipe club, but I'm married to one. Close enough. I had a few ideas about gnocchi after subsisting on leftovers for days after you all met at our house. (They reheat decently well if you happen to have cooked too many, by the way.)

Since they're just dressed-up potatoes, gnocchi go well with pretty much everything. You could match them with a host of entrees, as well dress them in almost any ethnic-cuisine trappings you can think of. My first impulse was to make it more Mexican/Southwest -- instead of the suggested sauce, I used a green salsa that we had made from tomatillos, onions, jalepenos, and cilantro. With the addition of some melting-gooey mexican cheese blend on top, I thought they were fabulous. I ate them as my lunch on two different days, but they'd be a great side to some sort of spicy fish, chicken, or even a black bean dish.

My other experiment was Asian gnocchi. We had a roasted red pepper sauce in the freezer that has lemongrass, peppers, onions, and a whole lot of rice wine vinegar. It was very good on the gnocchi, but I think a simple blend of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar would be satisfying when drizzled over these things, too.

I have two more innovations that I want to try on the next batch we make. The first would be keeping with the Southwest theme by smothering the gnocchi in a roasted poblano cream sauce (roasted peppers, onion, salt, and cream or half & half -- all pureed together). Instead of boiling these ones, I think sauteing them in a pan is the way to go -- slightly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and smothered in smoky cream sauce. I am pumped.

The second innovation will be additions to the dough. I've heard of spinach or herbs being added. Maybe something seasonal like sweet potato gnocchi could be a big hit as the weather turns cold.

Any other suggestions out there?

-Q

October Meeting- Gnocchi

This cute little potato pasta just got easier when I discovered that it could be made using POTATO PEARLS (Go food storage!).



For 6 LARGE servings (freeze the extra for an easy meal another night)

• Add 3 cups of potato pearls to 3 1/2 cups boiling water. Let cool slightly

• In another bowl mix 3 eggs, 1/2 Tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and any other seasonings your family likes (we've done Parmesan cheese, garlic powder/salt, basil, and don't forget nutmeg!)

• Add egg mixture to potatoes. Gradually add flour (up to about 4 cups) until dough is no longer sticky, but not stiff. Knead a bit to make smooth.

• Divide into baseball sized lumps, roll the lumps into snakes (think playdough here) about the thickness of your finger. Then cut them into Nib sized pieces (see pic). If you want to get fancy you can try the fork method we did at the meeting but it's not necessary. They'll taste the same. If you want to see how to do it go here.

• Now is the time to set aside a bunch for freezing. Just line them on a cookie sheet, stick it in the freezer and once they're frozen transfer them to a Ziploc.

• Drop the non-freezer ones into boiling water. Within a 1-3 minutes they'll start popping up. They're done!

Now just dump a bottle of spaghetti sauce on. Or if you're feeling adventurous try this one (it's as close to what we had on my mission as I could get):

1 onion- diced
2 garlic cloves- minced
1 carrot- shredded

Saute with oil until tender. Add 2 cans diced tomatoes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, sugar, and basil (optional). Let simmer until desired consistency reached. Enjoy!

Upcoming Meetings

Here is the schedule for the next couple of months. The gal hosting will pick the day/time in the 2nd week of the month that works best for them and their dish (for example, breakfast crepes would be earlier while a Cobb salad might be closer to lunch time). That way everyone in the group will eventually have a time that works for them come around. Any questions? Does anyone know of something that goes on during the second week of the month?

November- Annie

December- No meeting

January- Brittany

February- Lindsey

March- Robyn


I can't wait to see what they are going to teach us! And remember- this is where you'll want to check for info on what we'll be making, meeting times, directions, and any recipes that group members have posted. You don't have to be registered to read the blog -- just to post.

Brooke

Welcome Afternoon Recipe Group Members!

Hey Everyone!

There seemed to be interest not only in getting together, but in swapping recipes. So, instead of e-mailing out once a month, I thought it would be fun to have a blogspot where we could post recipes, website links, pictures of our successes/failures, suggestions, etc. Each of you have the ability to post to the blogspot whenever you want. This should make it fairly interactive and fun!

Let me know if you need help figuring out how to make posts. Enjoy!