FABULOUS FOOD FROM TWO LUNCHEONS

I went to two luncheon's today. One at 11:00 and one at 1:30--we didn't eat until after 3:00 at the second one. Thank goodness. The food was outstanding. I will post the recipes here as I get them from my friends.

This was fabulous. We put it on French bread. She used Simply Fruit for the raspberry jam.

RASPBERRY HONEY BUTTER--brought by Marcia Ogden
From the Lion House Cookbook

1 lb of butter (4 cubes)
1 cup of honey
1 cup of raspberry jam
1 tsp vanilla
Beat the butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the honey, jam, and vanilla beating until it is mixed in.

This unusual fudge was delicious. I was going to take my piece home but I took one bite and ate it all!

CHERRY CHEESECAKE FUDGE –brought by Marcia Ogden

1 pound white chocolate, in chunks, or real white chocolate chips
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 cup drained maraschino cherries, in halves or quarters

Carefully melt the white chocolate in a double boiler, or in the microwave on low power, stirring every 20 seconds to make sure it doesn't burn. Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and heat in the microwave for about 1 minute on high, so that it's slightly warm and softened.

Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl. Add the white chocolate and beat until the mixture is well-blended. Fold in cherries. Pour in an 8-by-8-inch pan that's been buttered or lined with foil or plastic wrap. Chill several hours or overnight, until firm. Makes about 5 dozen 1-inch pieces. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Very good.
RASPBERRY & DARK CHOCOLATE FUDGE --brought by Marcia Ogden

12-ounces dark dipping chocolate, or a 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup regular or heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam, at room temperature

Melt the chocolate or chips in a large bowl in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds to make sure they don't burn. Marcia used a double boiler. She says she doesn’t dare do it in the microwave.

Pour whipped cream in a glass cup and heat in the microwave about 30 seconds, until it's warm. Add the warm cream to the melted chocolate, and blend the mixture together with an electric mixer. Add the jam and continue beating until well-mixed.

Pour the mixture into an 8-by-8-inch pan that's been buttered or lined with foil or plastic wrap. Chill until firm, 2-4 hours or overnight. Makes about 5 dozen 1-inch squares. Store in the refrigerator.

I was only going to eat 1/2 of the following sandwich as I had another luncheon to go to in the afternoon. I ate it ALL and thought, how can I eat another one without being obvious? I didn't do it but I wanted to. You could bake these and then keep in the fridge for late night snacking. Mmm.

Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches--brought by Jo Tuckett

2 dozen small rolls
6 oz. Swiss cheese
8 oz. sliced ham
1 ½ T. poppy seeds
1 ½ T. prepared mustard
1 stick butter, melted
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. minced onion

Make sandwiches with rolls, ham and cheese. The ones I made I used Miracle Whip and a little mustard on the sandwiches. Mix the 5 remaining ingredients well with a wire whisk and pour over sandwiches. Leave uncovered until butter sets. Cover with foil. They can be kept in the refrigerator for a day or overnight.Bake 15 min. at 350. Enjoy!

The following salad was very good:

CASHEW SALAD--from Worldwide Ward Cookbook

Salad:
3 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped
4 C cashews
1 6-oz bag craisins
2 apples, chopped
2 pears, chopped
4 oz Swiss cheese, cubed

Dressing:
Prepare dressing the day before
3/4 C canola oil
2/3 C sugar
1 Tbsp red onion, finely grated
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp ground dry mustard
1/3 C fresh lemon juice

Combine all salad ingredients and toss with dressing immediately before serving. Makes 12 servings.

I brought the following. I make them every Christmas for pot lucks and then wonder why I only make them at Christmas. These aren't hot--with the cayenne--but have a tiny bit of a bite. I didn't use this much cayenne today but wish I had because there was no bite.

I got this off the food network years ago. I think I tweaked it a bit. Yup, just checked, I did. Originally called for chopped onion and it was hard to get the onion to hold together with the rest of the mixture. You could use 2 fresh garlic cloves, pressed if you want instead of the garlic powder. Original recipe called for twice the cayenne.

SPINACH PARMESAN BALLS --Food Network --brought by Lynne Snyder

1 pound package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed somewhat dryish
5 eggs
1 Tbs. onion powder
10 Tbs. butter, melted
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese—I just use the Kraft grated cheese in the green canister
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. slightly rounded cayenne pepper

1 ¾ cups Italian bread crumbs

the oven to 350°Squeeze excess water from spinach and put in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well by hand. Form into 1-inch balls. Place the balls closely together on baking sheet. Cook in top half of oven until firm to the touch and just the tiniest bit brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

This is what I took to the second luncheon. It's a very good salad and very showy. Everyone wants the recipe.

POPPY SEED SALAD DRESSING—Lynne Snyder

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup cold pressed safflower oil or any salad oil
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup sugar
1 Tbs. poppy seeds
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. dry mustard

Mix all ingredients together. ½ hour before serving pour over:

1 red onion, sliced thin
½ pound to ¾ pound mushrooms, sliced

When ready to serve pour over:

1 head lettuce, chopped
1 (10-oz.) pkg. spinach,
chopped

Note: The original recipe called for adding some crisp cooked bacon cut into small pieces and about ½ cup cottage cheese to the lettuce/spinach just before tossing with the mushrooms and dressing.

I always use red onion and mushrooms. Lately I have been adding re-hydrated dried tomatoes and chopped red or yellow or orange bell pepper and even substituting a chopped bunch of green onions for the red onion. If I do that I leave out the poppy seeds. Actually I could leave them in but I am out of poppy seeds at the moment.

PARMESAN ROLLS

These rolls are leftover from the luncheon Sarah and I hosted for the women we visit teach each month. They are sitting in the kitchen, calling my name and I am sitting at the computer with my fingers in my ears.

This is a super easy recipe and fabulous. I used my favorite pizza dough recipe but any roll recipe would work. For a totally easy way just thaw some frozen rolls, cut them in half and proceed.


Homemade roll dough or use pre-made, frozen rolls, thawed. Pinch off a piece of dough, roll it into a rectangle, roll in melted butter and dredge in Parmesan cheese* with some dried parsley mixed in. Put on a greased cookie sheet and let rise.


Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until a bit brown. These are fabulous, I promise. And easy. And fabulous. I said that already, didn't I?


*Just use the Kraft "dry" kind of Parmesan cheese. BUT, once it is open it has to be stored in the fridge. I found out the hard way that this kind of cheese will mold. I had to throw a "almost full" canister away.

These rolls are served at a local restaurant, Magleby's and it's sister restaurant, Magleby's Fresh.

ORANGE CRAISIN ROLLS—Gaye Marrott--a friend of Lynne's

Gaye makes these for her very spoiled husband.

Dough:
1 1/8 cup orange juice
1 large egg
1 tsp. salt
3 cups flour
2 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. dried orange peel
1 pkg. yeast

Filling:
1 TBs. butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
1-2 tsp. dried orange peel or freshly grated
½ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup finely chopped almonds

Glaze:
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp. orange peel
1-2 Tbs. frozen orange juice concentrate

In bread maker place dough ingredients in order given. Run on dough cycle. Remove dough from the machine upon completion of the dough cycle and roll into a rectangle on a floured work surface. Add only enough flour to prevent sticking. Brush dough with melted butter. Mix sugar and orange peel together and spread evenly over dough. Sprinkle with dried cranberries and nuts. Roll dough jelly-roll fashion, beginning on the wide side. Cut into 12 eual slices and place in 9x13 in grease d pan. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free location for 30 to 45 minutes.

Bake in preheated 350° oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Mix glaze ingredients and drizzle on warm rolls.