thanksgiving recipes-Walnut cake November 18, 2007

Maple Walnut Cake
By Katie Price Webster & Jessie Price

Reminiscent of a British sticky toffee pudding, this cake gets its moisture from dates; toasted nuts and maple give it an intoxicating fragrance.

Servings: 12 servings
Total Time: 2 hours
Ease of Preparation: Easy
Cuisine: American
Type of Dish: Desserts, Desserts, Cakes
Health: Low Cholesterol, Low Sodium, Diabetes Appropriate

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pitted dates (6 ounces)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts (see Tip), divided
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 each large egg
3/4 cup pure maple syrup , preferably dark amber (Grade B)
1/4 cup canola oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup gently packed confectioners’ sugar
1-2 teaspoons water , if needed

Steps:

1: Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

2: Place dates in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over them to soak. Let cool to room temperature.

3: Process whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, 2/3 cup walnuts, baking soda and salt in a food processor until the walnuts are completely ground and the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a medium bowl; make a well in the center.

4: Puree the dates and soaking water in the food processor until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add egg, 3/4 cup syrup, oil, butter, 2 teaspoons vinegar and vanilla and process until smooth and creamy. Scrape the date mixture into the well in the dry ingredients and stir together gently until just combined. Transfer to the prepared pan.

5: Bake the cake until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Run a knife around the edges to loosen the cake, if necessary, and remove the sides of the pan.

6: To glaze cake: Carefully lift the cake from the pan bottom and place on a cake stand or serving plate. Whisk maple syrup, vinegar and confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl. Add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if necessary to make a spreadable consistency. Spread the glaze evenly over the top of the cake, then decorate with the remaining 1/3 cup walnuts.

Nutrition: (Per serving)

Calories – 342
Carbohydrates – 48
Fat – 16
Saturated Fat – 4
Monounsaturated Fat – 4
Protein – 4
Cholesterol – 28
Dietary Fiber – 3
Potassium – 201
Sodium – 136
Nutrition Bonus – High omega-3s.

Prepare through Step 5 up to 8 hours ahead. Glaze and decorate the cake (Step 6) when ready to serve. |Equipment: 10-inch springform pan

To toast chopped walnuts: Cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Thankgivig recipe-Shrimp Scampi November 18, 2007

Cheers! and Happy Holidays!

Holiday Shrimp Scampi

Serves 4

This dish can be served anytime, but the red and green elements really play up a Christmas theme. It’s simple and elegant and really FAST. You can make this in just a few minutes to really impress your guests.

12 jumbo shrimp (Peeled and deveined. Leave their tails on if you want to be fancy.)
1 bunch of green onions, diced thinly, with some of the green parts
1 tablespoon of garlic 1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 Tbl lemon juice

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan. At the same time, add the green onions, the red and green pepper and the parsley. Sauté on Medium heat until the onions are tender and the green and red peppers have loosened up a bit but still have bite to them.

Add the shrimp. Cook the large shrimp until they are no longer opaque in the middle. This should take about 3 minutes. They will curl in the process.

Take the shrimp out of the pan with a tongs and set them on the serving plates 3 to a plate. Balance the third one up against the other two to give your presentation depth. Add the white wine to the skillet and turn it on Medium High so it boils. Boil down the mixture for 1 full minute and add the lemon juice.

Now spoon this sauce over the shrimp and Voilà!

If you are serving the side salad, you can have the salad all plated and ready to serve before you begin to cook the shrimp scampi. This will allow you to get the dish to table while the shrimp are hot.

Side salad for Holiday Shrimp Scampi

One cup (maximum) assorted baby greens per person
1 chopped red pepper to add color

Dressing:

1/4 cup walnut pieces
2 Tbl mustard (Dijon, preferably)
2 Tbl red wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste (Optional; just a dash will do it.)

In your blender, grind up the walnuts, 2 tablespoons of mustard and a drizzle of the olive oil (just enough to get the blender moving). Grind until well chopped. Then, in a small stream, add the rest of the olive oil. This will make a thick dressing and more than you need to dress the 4 small salads. Save the rest to use in another salad or as a sandwich spread. Lightly dress your greens and toss. Put them on the plate and top with the red pepper bits. Grind a bit of salt and pepper on top (optional).

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving recipes November 18, 2007

Cranberry-Fruit Compote

Ingredients

-1 bag of cranberries

-1 granny smith apple, chopped fine -1 can of pineapple tidbits (fresh chopped fine is better), including juice
-1 can mandarin orange segments (or 1 fresh, peeled, segmented, and seeded mandarin orange or satsuma)
-Splash of vanilla extract
-Fruit juice. Any variety that you like with cranberry is fine (e.g. apple, peach, pineapple), just make sure it’s 100% juice.
-OPTIONAL: Dehydrated dragonfruit, fresh pomegranate seeds, harder varieties of pears.

Note: No additional sugar is required for this recipe, as the juice adds not only liquid but flavour and sweetness as well.

Directions

Wash all of the fresh fruit, and pick out any stems/leaves/bad looking units from the berries.

Get everything else ready, and chop the apple last to avoid browning. Peeling the apple is optional.

Dump all of the fruit and the pineapple juice leftovers into a non-stick saucepan. Add enough to let you see the liquid but not to cover everything – the cranberries will add plenty of liquid as well.

Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries start to pop and the apples and pineapple are bright red. If done correctly, all of the fruits will still maintain their textures and shapes at this point. Should you want a smoother option, puree with a stick blender until the consistency is even.

At this point, turn the heat OFF and move the pan to a cold burner. The sugars will start to congeal as the mixture cools, forming a lovely syrup.

This dish can be served warm, but is best served after a night in the fridge, when the flavours have had some extra time to meld. Serve as a side, fruit course, or by itself.