For crust, combine flour, brown sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fine. Pat into ungreased 9x13 pan. Layer pecan halves on prepared crust. Cook butter, brown sugar over medium heat in 1 quart pan, stirring constantly until entire surface begins to boil. Let boil for ½ - 1 minute stirring constantly (not 1 minute, just over ½ minute). Pour over pecans and crust. Bake near center of oven at 350° for 18-22 minutes, or until caramel is bubbly. After removing from oven, sprinkle immediately with chocolate chips. Let chips melt slightly and then swirl. Cool completely before cutting.
1 c. butter, softenedButter Icing:
5 Tbsp. flour
1 c. milk
1 c. butter (softened)
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix flour and milk in saucepan until very hot (almost to a boil); cook until pasty. Chill in refrigerator until cool. Meanwhile cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add cooled paste gradually, beat well. Put iced cake in refrigerator for about 30 min to set icing.
Toss 4 Tbsp. melted butter with bread, parm cheese & parsley - set aside. Saute onions in remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over med-high heat - 15 min. or until golden brown. Add mushrooms and saute 5 minutes. Stir in wine, cream, red peppers and chicken, cook, stirring constantly, 5 min. or until bubbly. Put mixture into lightly greased 9 in. square baking dish or 11x7 in. baking dish; top evenly with bread mixture (I did not grease the pan and have not had any problems)
Bake at 400 for 15 min. or until casserole is golden brown. 4 generous servings.
To make nuts: Preheat oven to 250. Lightly grease jelly roll pan. Lightly beat the egg white, add water and beat until frothy (but not stiff). Add nuts and stir until well coated. Sift together sugar, salt & cinnamon. Sprinkle over the nuts and toss to mix. Spread on pan and bake for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
This recipe is the result of another internet quest {what did we ever do without it?!} Jon had some baked oatmeal at our favorite local breakfast spot, but they only serve it once in awhile as a special, and he wanted to have it whenever he wanted! So, after a few tries, this one was the winner - we've been making this so long that we don't remember which site we got it from - or we would give credit!
Our bus driver had quite a bit of trouble finding the place and our bus even got stuck trying to get there. We had come from being in Rome where we were not super impressed with the food and were still looking for that to-die-for Italian meal.
Season chicken with salt & pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil over med-high heat, cook chicken, then set aside. Add remaining T. of olive oil, onion, ½ tsp. salt and cook for 3-5 minutes, add garlic, oregano & pepper flakes, cook for 1 min. Add ziti, 2 c. water and chicken broth – bring to a boil and cook 12-15 min. Add broccoli, sundried tomatoes and remaining ¾ c. water, cover and reduce heat to med., cook 3-5 minutes. Return heat to high, stir in cream, Asiago cheese and chicken, cook 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, season with salt & pepper and serve with more Asiago.
Cut pork loin into 1 inch cubes. Cook bacon in large skillet over med-high heat until crisp, remove bacon from skillet, crumble and set aside. Add onion, thyme, rosemary and garlic to bacon drippings in skillet – saute 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in crumbled bacon, salt, pepper, tomatoes, bring to a boil. Remove from heat, set aside. Mash half the beans with a potato masher until chunky. Combine mashed beans, remaining half of beans, pork loin and sausage and mix well. Place half of bean mixture in slow cooker, top with half of tomato mixture. Repeat layers, cover with lid and cook on high setting for 1 hour. Reduce to low heat setting and cook 4 hours. Serve with grated parmesan cheese.
This is a recipe from Giada that I got off the internet. I made it once for my friend Alicia, who does not like mushrooms, and so I substituted fresh spinach instead. It was so good, that now I add spinach every time!
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Salt & pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
5 Tbsp. butter (divided)
¾ c. onion, chopped
1 lb. cremini mushrooms
2 Tbsp. garlic
1 c. dry Marsala
1 c. (8 oz.) mascarpone cheese
2 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. parsley
12 oz. fettuccine (or preferred pasta - we use farfalle)
fresh spinach (optional)
Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Sprinkle with salt & pepper, cook in olive oil over med-high heat, and then set aside when done. While chicken cools, melt 2 Tbsp. butter over med-high heat and add onion (2 min.) then mushrooms and garlic (12 min.), then add wine and simmer (4 min.), then stir in mascarpone and mustard, return chicken to pan for 2 minutes and season with salt & pepper. (If using fresh spinach, add at the very end before serving). Serve with pasta.
Jon's sister, Elizabeth, introduced this to the family and it has become our absolute favorite. I can't even begin to imagine how many times we've eaten this!
Romaine lettuce
Stilton or bleu cheese, crumbled
Ripe pears, cubed
Toasted walnuts (400° – 10 minutes)
Dressing:
1/3 c. olive oil
Big dollop Dijon mustard
Scant tsp. sugar
Salt & pepper
Cider vinegar (1/2 as much as oil)
This is amazing with the Spicy Lemon Shrimp. This recipe also came from Carla.
¼ c. butter
2 ½ c. uncooked long grain white rice
4 ½ c. canned chicken broth
½ c. vermouth
1 ½ tsp. salt
Pinch pepper
¼ c. fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. grated lemon rind
Melt butter, add rice, cook over med. heat 2 min. stirring constantly. Add chicken broth, vermouth, salt & pepper, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat & simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat. Toss w/ parsley & lemon.
Directions:
Get pasta water heated in large pot. Saute pancetta in large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Add onion, garlic and crushed red pepper. Saute until onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Once water in large pot is boiling, cook pasta until 'al dente', stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk 3/4 c. cheese, eggs and cream in bowl to blend; set aside. Add vermouth to the pancetta, onion, garlic mixture in the skillet. Simmer until most of vermouth has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot. (Pasta will probably be done before pancetta mix.). Add pancetta mixture and egg mixture to pasta. Toss over low heat until egg mixture thickens and coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if sauce is too thick, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer pasta to large bowl and serve with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
Peel & devein shrimp, set aside. Combine all other ingredients except for olive oil, then stream in olive oil with a whisk. Toss clean shrimp in marinade and refrigerate for about 3 hours. Put on skewers and grill for 5-10 min. Serve with Fresh Lemon Rice.
