Asian Egg Drop Soup

From the Food Network: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/asian-egg-drop-soup-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 4 cups prepared chicken stock, plus 2 tablespoons
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 green onions, chopped, including ends
• Salt and white pepper, to taste

Directions

Bring soup stock, grated ginger and soy sauce to a boil. In a small cup, make a slurry by combining the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of chicken stock. Stir until dissolved. Slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture while stirring the stock, until thickened. Reduce heat to a simmer. Pour in the eggs slowly while stirring the soup in the same direction. The egg will spread and feather. Turn off the heat and add the green onions. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately

Irish Potato Brown Bread

Bread Machine Recipe

1 1/2 Pound Loaf
1 1/4 cups water
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons honey

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
1/4 cup instant potato flakes
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons gluten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons SAF yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast


2 Pound Loaf
1 2/3 cups water
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons honey

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup bread flour
1/3 cup instant potato flakes
2 tablespoon gluten
2 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 teaspoons SAF yeast or 1 tablespoon bread machine yeast

Instructions
1) Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer's instructions.  Set crust on medium and program for the Whole Wheat cycle; press Start.  (This recipe is not suitable for use with the Delay Timer).

2) When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack.  Let it cool to room temperature before slicing.

Caramel Shortbread

Get out your kitchen scale for this recipe!  From an British cookbook.

Shortbread
4 oz butter, softened
2 oz sugar
6 oz self-raising flour
Pinch of Salt

Topping
4 oz superfine sugar
4 oz butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup (a must in your kitchen.  Buy it from World Market or from Amazon)
218 gm (7.657 oz) tin condensed milk
100 gm (3.512 oz) bar plain or milk chocolate (I doubled the chocolate)

 Set oven to 325 degrees F.  Well grease and base line an approx. 11 x 7 inches shallow tin.  Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy.  Stir in the flour and salt and knead well.  Put into the tin, spread out and press down evenly with the fingers.  Bake for 30 minutes until pale brown.  Leave in the tin to cool.  Meanwhile, for the topping, put all the ingredients, except the chocolate, into a pan.  Bring to the boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes or more, stirring continuously until the mixture thickens and turns pale caramel brown.  When ready, pour over the cooked shortbread and spread out.  When set, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over hot water, pour over the caramel and spread out.  When the chocolate has set, cut into squares with a sharp knife dipped in hot water.

Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie Trifle

From How Sweet It Is: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/09/peanut-butter-fudge-brownie-trifle/

1 batch of your favorite brownies, boxed or from scratch, cooled and cut into cubes
1 large box (5-ounce) of instant chocolate pudding, prepared and chilled (this will most likely call for 3 cups of milk, nothing else)
1 bag of peanut butter cups, chopped
2 cups heavy cream
3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar, depending on your desired level of sweetness
1 cup of creamy peanut butter
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
8 ounces of whipped cream cheese, at room temperature

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat heavy cream and sugar on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to an separate bowl and stick in the fridge until ready to use. I did not even clean the bowl of my electric mixer and just began mixing the peanut butter mixture.

Add the peanut butter and cream cheese to the bowl and beat at medium speed, scraping down the sides a few times until mixture is creamy. Add in powdered sugar and mix until combined, then mix in 2 tablespoons of milk. Remove the whipped cream from the fridge and add 1 cup of it to the peanut butter, folding it in until the mixture turns lighter in color and is mostly combined.

Grab your trifle dish and begin to layer your ingredients however you’d like. I did a layer of brownies, then peanut butter, then a handful of chopped peanut butter cups, chocolate pudding, whipped cream, and so on. I repeated it until I got to the top, then piped the remaining whipped cream on top and sprinkled the candy on. You really can’t go wrong with layering – just use a long spoon to serve!

English Toffee Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter or 1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups English toffee bits or 1 1/2 cups almond brickle chips (I used toffee bits)

Frosting Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 -5 tablespoons half-and-half cream or 3 -5 tablespoons milk

Directions:
1.     Cream butter and sugars; add eggs and vanilla.
2.     Combine dry ingredients and mix into butter/sugar mixture.
3.     Stir in toffee bits.
4.     Drop by teaspoon onto parchment-lined baking sheet.
5.     Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until firm (do not brown).
6.     Cool on a rack and make little cookie sandwiches with the frosting.

Frosting Directions:
1.     Cream butter and add sugar and vanilla.
2.     Add milk to reach spreading consistency.

recipe and pic from: http://www.food.com/recipe/toffee-sandwich-cookies-113949#ixzz1yq9q5ZA4

Baked Brie Bites

Recipe and pic from plainchicken.com

mini phyllo cups

brie, cubed

brown sugar

chopped pecans

honey

Preheat oven to 350.

Place a cube of brie in each phyllo tart.  Sprinkle each tart with approximately 1/2 tsp brown sugar.  Top with approximately 1/2 tsp chopped pecans and a dollop of honey.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until brie is melted. (use more or less of each ingredient according to your preference)

Tortilla Chips

Corn Tortillas
Flour Tortillas
Veg Oil or Shortening
Sea Salt to taste


Cut tortillas to make chip size. Fry over stove in hot oil/shortening. Sprinkle sea salt over chips right as they get out of the hot oil. Serve with dips like salsa, guacamole, bean dip, cheese dip, etc.

For sweet chips, fry up the flour tortillas. Sprinkle/coat with cinnamon and sugar in large bowl right as they get out of hot oil. Store in bag. Can serve with vanilla ice cream, sprinkled with cinnamon and some honey to make "Semi-Fried Ice Cream".