Grilled Mushroom "Burgers" on Polenta "Buns"

From: Everyday With Rachael Ray

1 large shallot
1/3 cup smoked almonds (a generous handful)
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (a generous handful)
1/3 cup oil-cured sun-dried tomatoes (a generous handful)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus more for brushing
8 small portobello mushroom caps, wiped clean
One 18-ounce tube prepared plain or sun-dried tomato polenta, cut into 16 equal slices
Salt and pepper
8 slices smoked mozzarella or scamorza cheese

4 ribs celery with leafy tops, thinly sliced
2 bunches (about 8 ounces) arugula or spinach, chopped (about 4 cups)


Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Using a food processor, puree 1/4 cup water, the shallot, almonds, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. With the machine on, pour in 1/2 cup EVOO to form a smooth, thick dressing. Pour about two-thirds of the dressing into a large bowl. Add the mushroom caps and turn to coat.

Place the mushrooms on the grill, cover the grill (or cover the grill pan with foil) and cook, turning once, 7 minutes total. Brush the polenta slices with EVOO and season with salt and pepper. Grill until just heated through, about 4 minutes. Place the "burgers" on the polenta rounds, top with a slice of cheese and another polenta round and cook until the cheese melts, 1 minute more.

Toss the celery and arugula with the remaining dressing. Serve 2 "burgers" with the salad alongside.

My Notes: I made these on the grill along with large slices of white onion - yum! Or as Rachael Ray says, "Yumm-o!"

Rebecca's Favorite Summer Salad

Hearts of romaine, chopped
sliced strawberries
crumbled Gorgonzola
canned mandarin oranges, drained
pecan halves
OSCAR MAYER Deli Fresh Oven Roasted Chicken Breast Cuts

toss together and top with fruity store bought vinaigrette (this is mine) and you have an easy and flavorful summer salad!

Scones

From: my mom

Preheat oven to 400°

Sift together:

2 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder < very important

4 Tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

Add:

4 Tablespoons cold, diced butter

use a pastry blender or fork to crumb into flour mixture

Add:

2 eggs

1/3 cup cream

should look like this....

On a floured board turn dough out and knead about 10 times.

Divide in two and shape each into a circle about 1 inch thick.

Brush cream or milk onto tops of dough and sprinkle generously with sugar.

Cut each circle into quarters and move wedges away from each other to bake.

Bake on parchment paper 15 minutes or until golden. If you've gone to your pantry and discover that alas, you ran out of parchment paper but for some reason, placed the empty box back in the pantry, thus not adding parchment paper to your shopping list - you can substitute by using a 9x13 pyrex dish.

looks like someone you might know made that very same mistake!

If you wish, add 1 cup of cranberries or blueberries after kneading.

Sprinkle them over the dough and gently fold the dough over a few times being careful not to crush the berries. Try freezing the berries for an hour or so to make them more sturdy.

Funny story about scones - the first time I made these I bragged and bragged to my friends about how awesome my mom's scones are and how they were in for the best treat of their lives. The scones came out of the oven looking great, smelling great and initially tasting great. But a bitter after taste loomed. My friends were so kind, we all smeared them with jam and ate them anyway. Later on I called my mom and came to find out I had used baking soda, not baking powder! She made me promise to call of my friends back and explain the confusion.

Which reminds me of a certain oatmeal cookie episode I will tell you about later. If you can't laugh at yourself when you are cooking, you are in for a hard life!

Kung Fu Cupcakes

From AmazingMoms.com

Dragon Cupcake
Children will love these magical dragons for their birthday party!

mushu dragon cupcake
You'll Need:
cupcakes, red cupcake liners, red gumdrops (large and small),
yellow fruit-by-the foot or fruit rollups, white chocolate chips,
black decorator frosting, red frosting

Begin with a batch of cupcakes frosted a bright red or green or whatever color your dragons will be. A food color paste produces a more vibrant color tone.


For each cupcake, slice a large and small red gumdrop in half. Press the tip of a white chocolate chip into the cut surface of the large halves, near the center of the bottom edge to make the eyes. Press the "dragon eyes" into the frosting around the center of the cupcake. Then press the small gumdrop halves into the front of the cupcake (nose). Cut thin strips of fruit roll-up and place on the sides of the gum-drop "nose".

Cupcakes displayed using a cupcake stand will make a fabulous
table centerpiece.

Good Fortune Cupcakes - Super Easy!
Frost cupcakes with red or jade green frosting. Top each cupcake with
an unwrapped fortune cookie.

Kitty Litter Cake

From the internet

1 spice or German chocolate cake mix
1 white cake mix
2 large packages vanilla instant pudding mix, prepared
1 large package vanilla sandwich cookies
green food coloring
12 small Tootsie Roll candies

1 new kitty litter pan
1 new kitty litter pan liner
1 new pooper scooper

Prepare cake mixes and bake according to directions (any size pans).

Prepare pudding mix and chill until ready to assemble.

Crumble white sandwich cookies in small batches in food processor, scraping often. Set aside all but about 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup cookie crumbs, add a few drops green food coloring and mix until completely colored.

When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble into a large bowl. Toss with half the remaining white cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding. Important: mix in just enough of the pudding to moisten it. You don't want it too soggy. Combine gently.

Line a new, clean kitty litter box. Put the cake/pudding/cookie mixture into the litter box.

Put 3 unwrapped Tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until soft and pliable. Shape ends so they are no longer blunt, curving slightly. Repeat with 3 more Tootsie rolls bury them in the mixture. Sprinkle the other half of cookie crumbs over top. Scatter the green cookie crumbs lightly on top of everything -- this is supposed to look like the chlorophyll in kitty litter.

Heat 3 Tootsie Rolls in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake; sprinkle with cookie crumbs. Spread remaining Tootsie Rolls over the top. For the coup de gras take one Tootsie Roll and heat until pliable, hang it over the side of the kitty litter box, sprinkling it lightly with cookie crumbs. Place the box on a newspaper and sprinkle a few of the cookie crumbs around for a truly disgusting effect!

Last but not least, you can also opt not to crumble the cakes, but rather layer them in the pan with the layers of pudding in between (much like you would layer a trifle into a trifle dish), sprinkle the top layer of pudding with a heavy layer of crumbled cookies. Same effect, different texture entirely to the dessert.

Hawaiian Salad

From Gma Pollard

2 packages sugar free lime jello
1 c boiling water
1.5 c ginger ale
16 oz sour cream
1 large can crushed pineapple with juice
1/2 c chopped nuts
small jar marschino cherries, chopped and drained

Combine jello and boiling water
Add ginger ale, let bubbles settle for a few seconds
Add sour cream - stir well
Add remaining ingredients, stirring thoroughly.
Chill overnight.

2002 Thanksgiving Salad

This recipe is from the first Thanksgiving Brandon and I spent together.

1 shallot, minced
1/3 c sherry wine vinegar
1/2 c canola oil
1/2 c EVOO
salt and pepper to taste
1 c soft goat cheese (crumbled)
3/4 c toasted walnuts
hearts of romaine
1 can sliced beets
1 pear, peeled, cored and sliced


Vinaigrette:
Place shallots and sherry wine vinegar in a small bowl and slowly whisk in oils. Season to taste.

Salad:
Toss romaine, pear, goat cheese and walnuts with vinaigrette.
Arrange salad on plates.
Top with the beets.