I’m sorry I can’t mail this out

I just made a bunch of these up for my daughter’s 18th birthday. Found them in a book, “What’s New, Cupcake?” by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. Amazing creations!

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Cookie of the month contest

Leave a comment here about your favorite cookie, or how to eat them, dunked in milk for example, and I will draw for a winner on Thursday.

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Thank you

I want to say a great big THANK YOU to “The Hirsh Group” for inviting me to cook for them again this year. This is the fourth year that I have cooked lunch and dinner for this group of golfers and I truly appreciate them having me back to cook again.

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Guest Request

A Chef of Your Own is cooking for 18 golfers this week. This is the fourth year they have invited me back into their vacation home to cook for them. This is a request to make again from last year

Crab Cakes

1 lb crab

1 egg

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dry mustard

3 Tbls Mayonnaise

1 Tbls Dijon mustard

1 tsp parsley

1 cup bread crumbs

1 tsp hot sauce

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

4 Tbls butter

4 Tbls oil

Clean crab. Combine egg through hot sauce to make dressing. Fold crab into dressing and form into 10 patties. Combine flour and cornmeal and roll each crab cake in mixture. Form into crab cakes. Heat skillit over medium high heat and add 2 Tbls butter and 2 Tbls oil. Saute half of the crab cakes 3-5 minutes on a side until golden. Remove and saute remaining cakes.

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Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Burgers

Here is a recipe from the Fresh Market archives. I have made these for A Chef of Your Own clients to rave reviews.

Blue cheese and Caramelized Onion Burgers

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef

1 Tbls Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbls Stonewall Kitchen Roasted Garlic and onion Jam

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

3 oz cream cheese, softened

3 Tbls crumbled blue cheese

1 Tbls dijon mustard

Combine ground beef, Onion Jam, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and pepper. Mix well. Shape into 8 patties.

Mix cream cheese, blue cheese, and Dijon mustard until smooth. Divide mixture among 4 of the patties, spreading to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Top with remaining pattie. Seal edges firmly.

Grill patties about 4 inches from coals or heating element, turning twice, equaling a total of 5-7 minutes on each side.

Caramelized Onions

1 lagre sweet onion, cut into half rings

2 Tbls olive oil

3 Tbls butter

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup beer

Heat stainless steel skillet over medium high heat, combine olive oil and butter. Heat until bubbling, making sure butter is melted in pan.

Saute onion in olive oil and butter. Stirring occasionally, until onion is brown and crust on edges, about 10 minutes. Move pan away from heat, add beer, swirling around the pan. Allow beer to reduce and become thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve onions on top of burgers. Enjoy!

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Not exactly what I wanted to post.

I was looking for my BBQ recipe, I have some golfers coming in on Monday and they are having pulled pork with BBQ sauce, but I couldn’t find it. This is way more interesting, I will look for the other though and post it when I get the chance.

Alligator Chili

3 lbs alligator meat, diced

1/2 cup oil

2 cups onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup green pepper, diced

2 Tbls minced garlic

2 Tbls jalapeno, diced

1, 16 oz,  can pinto beans

24 oz tomato sauce

1 cup chicken stock

1 Tbls chili powder

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat. Add alligator and cook 20 minutes to render juices.

Add onion, celery, pepper, garlic, and jalapeno. Saute until vegetables are wilted, about 3-5 minutes.

Add pinto beans, tomato sauce and chicken stock. Bring to a low boil and reduce to a simmer.

Add chili powder and cumin. Stir well.

Cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, once tender, season to taste with salt and pepper.

This recipe is from April Barkilus from www.backwoodsbound.com

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Viedo from The Daily Buzz

I havent been able to figure out how to up load this to the web yet but you can find the videos from the tv show last week here:http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=1048136889&email=bb3df68651287204900bb6e2a45f5d16

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Spinach Stuffed Lasagna Ruffles

Here is A Chef of Your Own recipe my clients really enjoy. if you don’t want these vegetarian, you can saute 1 lb of ground beef and add to the cheese and spinach mixture.

Spinach Stuffed Lasagna Ruffles

8 oz package lasagna noodles

8 oz package cream cheese, softened

2, 10 oz, packages spinach, thawed and drained

1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese

15 oz ricotta cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

32 oz spaghetti sauce

Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

Filling: Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the spinach, 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese, Ricotta cheese, Mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, and salt.

Spread 1/4 to 1/2 cup of filling over each cooked noodle. Roll the noodles up lengthwise (jelly roll style) half of the spaghetti sauce into a lightly greased oven proof container. Cutting each roll in half, crossways, place them in the sauce, cut side down. After placing all of the rolls in the pan, top with the remaining sauce and Parmesan cheese. Bake 30-40 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven, until hot and bubbly.

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Happy Valentine’s Day

Here is another great recipe to make for that special someone for Valentine’s Day.

Herbed Sirloin Medallions with a Zinfandel Shallot Sauce

4, 1/2-3/4″ thick, Aged Sirloin Steaks

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5 Tbls olive oil, divided

2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 Tbls fresh sage, finely minced

2 Tbls fresh rosemary, finely minced

2 Tbls fresh thyme, finely minced

sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

1/2 cup Zinfandel wine

4 Tbls European Style Butter

Heat a stainless steel skillet over medium high heat. While skillet is heating, combine chopped herbs, garlic, 2 Tbls olive oil, sea salt and pepper in a bowl, mixing to form a paste like seasoning mixture. Using your hands, press seasoning mixture into both sides of each sirloin steak.

Place remaining 3 Tbls of olive oil in heated skillet. The oil should begin to smoke immediately after adding it to the skillet. Place steaks in skillet and sear for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Make sure not to disturb the steaks as they sear to ensure that the herb mixture will form a crust on the meat. After searing, place on a serving platter and keep warm.

Add sliced shallots to skillet and brown in remaining meat juices, for about 2 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and add wine to deglaze pan. Return to heat and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of pan. Reduce wine to about 1/4 cup, stirring occasionally, Reduce heat to low and add butter to skillet. Using a whisk, swirl butter into wine reduction, creating a velvety sauce to top your steaks.

You can see this being prepared at http://www.lightscameracook.com/february_07.html

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Demo Today

A Chef of Your Own is doing a demo at The Fresh Market in Dr Phillips today, from 1-4.Stop by if you get the chance. The recipe for today is a yummy beef tenderloin, stop in if you get the chance.

Beef Tenderloin with Blue Cheese Bruscheta

2 oz gorgonzola or other blue cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup Scarpetta Tomato and Capers Bruschetta Topping

2 (6 oz) beef tenderloin fillets, well-trimmed

2 Tbls TFM Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 cup Ruffino Chianti

1/2 cup TFM Beef Stock

1/4 cup TFM Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tbls unsalted butter

Combine Gorgonzola and Bruschetta in a small bowl to make topping. Cover and refrigerate. Heat skillet over high heat for 2 minutes. Season Steaks with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to skillet and sear steaks for 3 minutes on each side. Lower heat to medium low and continue cooking steaks to desired level of doneness. Remove steaks and cover with foil to keep warm. Remove pan from heat and add wine, scraping up any browned bits. Return to heat and add stock, reduce for 2-3 minutes. whisk in vinegar and butter and reduce for 2 more minutes. To serve, ladle som pan sauce on a dinner plate. Place steak on the sauce and top with a dollop of blue cheese topping.

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