MINI CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES WITH CREME ANGLAISE

A few years ago my daughter Sarah found a recipe and asked if I would make it for her birthday dessert. Birthdays are a BIG DEAL in our home! The birthday person always gets their favorite dinner, favorite dessert and many times we'll have extended family or other company in for dinner, with lots of presents and celebrating! When I agreed to making Sarah's dessert, I didn't realize it was a souffle! When I read the recipe, I was a bit apprehensive. But after it was done, I thought it was one of the easiest recipes I'd ever made! So tender, light and delicious! And the raspberries with the chocolate.... WOW!! The flavors just POP in your mouth! The batter for these souffles is all mixed in the blender! How easy is that?! You have GOT to try this one! The best part is, you can mix these up ahead of time and then just pop them in the oven when you sit down to dinner!

MINI CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES w/ CREME ANGLAISE

1 Tblsp soft butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water1 Tblsp espresso powder (I sub. instant coffee granules)
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate + 3 oz. milk chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 eggs
1 tsp. rum flavoring
12 oz. cream cheese, cut into chunks
Preheat oven to 375.
1. Coat 6 mini souffle dishes with butter (any oven safe, 8 oz glass bowl, will work). Using 1/4 cup of the sugar, distributing among the 6 dishes, sprinkle evenly with sugar.
2. Put remaining 1/2 cup sugar, bittersweet chocolate, milk chocolate and water together in microwave safe bowl and heat for 2 minutes. Remove and whisk to combine.
3. Break the eggs into a blender, add the heavy cream and the rum flavoring. Blend until eggs and cream are thoroughly mixed.
4. With the blender running, scrape in the melted chocolate slowly. Add the cream cheese chunks one at a time. When batter is completely mixed, blend on high speed for a few seconds to make sure any leftover chunks of cream cheese don't get missed.
5. Pour the batter to 3/4 full, distributing evenly among the 6 dishes.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove from oven, sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with mixed berries (raspberries, blueberries and strawberries) drizzle with creme anglaise and serve warm!


CREME ANGLAISE
(I usually double this - YES, it's THAT good!)

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 egg yolks
2 Tblsp butter

In a saucepan over med-high heat, combine cream, 1/4 sugar, whisk. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar. When cream mixture comes to just a boil, remove from heat, whisk a small amount of hot cream into egg yolks, stir, then whisk in a bit more until the temp of the eggs gradually rises to meet the temp of the hot cream. This is called 'tempering' the eggs. If you do it too quickly you will 'cook' the eggs and ruin your sauce. So just a couple small drizzles at a time, until the eggs are warmed. Then pour warmed egg yolks into hot cream and whisk until smooth. Return this mixture to med high heat and cook, stirring constantly until mixture coats the back of a metal spoon. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm over mini chocolate souffles and assorted berries.

TIRAMISU

I love Italian food, and have always wanted to make 'real' Tiramisu. The last event I catered was our church's formal Winter banquet. The theme was "A Night to Remember" and it was decorated in Italian flair, complete with red & white checked tablecloths, drippy candles, imported cheeses, grapes and big crusty loaves of bread w/ seasoned olive oil. I served Chicken Marsala, Mozzarella stuffed meatballs, Angel hair pasta, Strawberry lemonade salad, Garlic bread, and then Tiramisu for dessert. If you like coffee flavored desserts, then you will love this. So easy to put together too.

TIRAMISU

3 egg yolks
3 1/2 oz. white sugar
8 oz. Mascarpone cheese (sub: softened Cream cheese)
16 oz. cream, whipped
(if you're pressed for time, you can use cool whip - but the REAL thing is so much better!)
8 1/2 oz. strong espresso or 3 tsp. of strong instant coffee in 250 ml of hot water
20 Lady fingers (can find these in the ethnic section of your local grocery store)
1 3/4 oz. cocoa powder

Cook egg yolks and sugar over hot water until thin (to do this, fill a saucepan 1/3 of the way with hot water, place pan over med-high heat, then place a mixing bowl in the top of the pan, making sure it doesn't touch the water. Then place the eggs and sugar in the mixing bowl and continue). After eggs are thinned and heated, add them to the Mascarpone cheese (or softened cream cheese), add whipped cream and gently stir until well combined. Dip lady fingers in coffee, layer in pan, cover with cream mixture, add another layer of dipped lady fingers and cream mixture. Refrigerate until firm. Before serving, dust with cocoa powder (do this by holding a small mesh seive over a bowl, place a couple of tablespoons of cocoa in the seive. Gently move over the top of the pan of Tiramisu and begin tapping the edge of the seive as you move it evenly over the top of the dessert.

EGG NOG FRENCH TOAST

What's your favorite thing to make on a Snow Day? School is canceled, many can't get out to go to work, you're not going anywhere until the driveway is plowed or snowblowed. You may as well make a hot breakfast for everyone. If you like egg nog and can get your hands on some, you have GOT to try this! It's so custardy and delicious. The only thing I would change would be to use a heartier bread. All I had in the bread box was Aunt Millies Cracked Wheat bread, and it was a bit to thin for this thick, custardy recipe. I still used it, but a nice, crusty, french, bread loaf, sliced thick, would work a lot better for this.

EGG NOG FRENCH TOAST

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup store bought egg nog
1 tsp rum flavoring (or vanilla, it's your choice)
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1/8 t. cinnamon + 1/8 t. nutmeg)
6 slices bread

Whisk together eggs, egg nog, rum flavoring and spices. Heat a griddle to hot. Dip bread in egg mixture, allowing it to soak in slightly. Butter (or oil) the hot griddle and place soaked bread on griddle. Cook on each side until golden brown and crispy. Serve with butter and powdered sugar or hot syrup.

*Note* To increase the recipe: for every additional 3 slices of bread, add one egg, 1/4 cup of egg nog and 1 tsp. rum flavoring (or 1/2 t. vanilla)

CRUNCHY ONION CHICKEN

Don't you just love a nice crispy, oven fried chicken? This chicken recipe is as easy as falling off a log! Exactly what you want on a busy day - something that goes together in a snap AND bakes in the oven! For having so few ingredients, it had great flavor. The onions gave it a nice crunch. Super easy and quick! A real keeper, for sure!

CRUNCHY ONION CHICKEN

1 (6 oz) French's original or cheddar french fried onions (crushed)
2 Tblsp flour
1 egg, beaten
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or whatever chicken pieces you prefer)

Crush french fried onions with flour in plastic bags. Dip chicken in egg, coat in onion crumbs. Press firmly to make the crumbs adhere. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until no longer pink in center. Bigger pieces of chicken will require a bit more cooking time.

GLAZED NUTS

Just in time for your Valentine goody boxes. These glazed nuts will be a HUGE hit with your loved ones. They are so addicting! If you start eating them warm from the oven, before you've even packaged them, you'll have to tell yourself to "STEP AWAY FROM THE PAN!"

GLAZED NUTS

1 lb pecans (I use half walnuts and half pecans)
1 egg white
1 tsp cold water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325.
Beat egg white with cold water until frothy. Mix nuts thoroughly with it. Mix dry ingredients, coat nuts. Bake on buttered cookie sheet at 325 for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes. Dry on paper towels until dry. Nice for gift and goody boxes!

SOUTHWESTERN MAC-N-CHEESE

Here is a cool spin on an old favorite - Mac-n-Cheese! Try it with a Southwestern flair! It's delicious and so hearty, you could serve it as the main entree for dinner and the whole family would be happy! Well unless you have a hubby that is a "meat and potatoes" man like mine is! *wink*

SOUTHWESTERN MAC-N-CHEESE

1 (16 oz) pkg. uncooked elbow macaroni (or pasta of your choice)
1 lb Ground Beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 pkg. Taco seasonings
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 (8 oz) brick shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1 (8 oz) brick shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Pace Picante, medium

Toppings:
Extra Shredded Mozzarella and Pepper Jack
Tortilla chips, crushed
Sour cream
Salsa

Cook macaroni according to pkg directions. In a separate skillet, brown 1 lb of ground beef with 1 medium diced onion, 4 oz can of chopped green chiles and 1/2 cup diced tomatoes. When the hamburger is done, stir in the packet of taco seasoning. Meanwhile in a dutch oven, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat, stir in cheeses. Drain macaroni, and pour into cheese sauce in dutch oven. Stir in ground beef mixture and Pace picante. Top with more shredded cheese and bake in oven for 20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Top with crushed tortilla chips. Serve with extra salsa and sour cream, if desired.

SOUTHWESTERN DIP

Don't you just love a good Southwestern flavored dish? Here are a couple of new recipes to add to your collection. This first one is a dip that goes together in a snap. It's a good ol' standby for a spur of the moment get-together, and young and old people alike love this dip.

SOUTHWESTERN DIP

8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 oz sour cream
4 oz Pace Picante, medium
1 Tblsp chopped green chiles
2 Tblsp Taco seasoning (more or less to taste)

Beat cream cheese with mixer until smooth, Stir in sour cream, and taco seasoning. Beat with mixer until combined. Add picante sauce (or salsa) and chopped green chiles. Stir with wooden spoon until well combined. Serve with tortilla chips.