Ingredients

• 4 large sweet onions
• 4 oz. Mexican chorizo
• 4 oz. ground beef
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 4 thick slices Mexican goat cheese or Muenster (4"x4")
• chopped cilantro
• 4 flour tortillas

for serving: additional flour tortillas, picante sauce or pico de gallo, guacamole

Preparation

Peel the onions. Cut an area off the top on which to set the onion. Hollow out the onions from the root end until about half the center has been removed. [I use the parings for my salsa and/or guac.] Place the onions in a steamer for about 20 minutes or until translucent but not too soft. [I use my microwave steamer, which only accommodates one onion at a time, for about 51/2 minutes per onion.] Remove and let cool on paper towel.

Saute meats and salt and pepper over medium heat for about 12 minutes, stirring constantly until well blended. Drain grease and fill onion cavities with stuffing. Place onions in a casserole and top with a slice of cheese. Cook uncovered in a 350 degree over for about 10 minutes, then broil until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Sprinkle with cilantro and serve immediately on the center of a warm flour tortilla with additional tortillas, picante and/or guacamole.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
• 6 Tablespoons butter
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 8 slices French bread, sliced ¾” thick
• 6 to 7 eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup heavy cream

Preparation

Melt butter in large sauté pan and add sliced apples. Top apples with sugar and cinnamon and stir to incorporate. Saute over medium heat until apples are limp and translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring so they don’t scorch.

Pour apples into a 9” x 13” glass ovenproof baking dish. Top with sliced French bread. Fill any spaces with small pieces of sliced bread so that entire surface is covered. Whisk eggs with vanilla, nutmeg, milk and cream. Pour this mixture over the Bread evenly so that all pieces absorb the liquid. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until morning.

The next morning, pre-heat the oven to 400º. Bake French toast for 25 minutes or until bread is golden and custard is set. Invert carefully onto a sheet pan and cut into squares to serve, apple-side-up. You may add the syrup of your choice and a dollop of crème fraiche. Serves 6 to 8.

Shelburne Inn

Ingredients

• 20 oz. of bread, cubed
• 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 12 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• Powdered sugar

Preparation

Place half the bread cubes in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle cream cheese evenly over bread. Do the same with the blueberries. Cover with remaining bread.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, vanilla and syrup. Drizzle egg mixture over bread. Cover with foil and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350. Bake 30 minutes, covered. Uncover and bake 30 minutes more, or until center is firm and top is golden. Lightly dust with powdered sugar. Serve with blueberry syrup.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries or frozen, thawed, drained

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Combine first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Using electric mixer, cream butter with 1 cup sugar in large bowl until mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon peel. Mix in dry ingredients alternatively with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Fold in blueberries. Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Cool 30 minutes in pan on rack. Turn bread out of pan and cool completely on rack.

Bon Appetit, August 1991

Ingredients

• 1 (8 oz.) round brie (2 cups grated swiss can be substituted)
• 1 lb. ground hot pork sausage
• 6 white sandwich bread slices
• 1 cup grated parmesan
• 7 large eggs, divided
• 3 cups whipping cream, divided
• 2 cups milk
• 1 TBSP fresh sage, or 1 tsp. dried sage
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• Garnish: chopped green onions, shaved parmesan

Preparation

Trim rind from brie and cut cheese into cubes.

Cook sausage until crumbled and done. Drain well.

Cut crusts from bread and place crusts evenly in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Layer evenly with bread slices, sausage, brie and parmesan.

Whisk together 5 eggs, 2 cups whipping cream, and the next 4 ingredients; pour evenly over casserole. Cover and chill overnight.

Whisk together remaining 2 eggs and 1 cup whipping cream. Pour evenly over chilled casserole.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until set. Garnish, if desired.

Ingredients

Shortbread:

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool, divided
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch, divided
• 1 large egg, separated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) chopped hazelnuts
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 heaping teaspoon coarse fleur de sel or sea salt
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Preparation

Place 1/2 stick of butter (4 tablespoons) in small saucepan over moderate heat. Melt and cook until butter stops foaming, smells toasty and begins to brown, about 10 minutes. The browner the butter, the deeper the flavor, but don’t let it blacken or burn. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Place the remaining butter (12 tablespoons) in a bowl. Using an electric mixer or wooden spoon, beat until creamy. Add the sugars and salt and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk, vanilla and cooled brown butter. Mix to combine. Then add flour, 1 cup at a time, and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Chill the batter for 20 to 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with oven rack in the middle. Butter a 10-by-15-inch jelly roll pan. Divide dough into 8 rough portions and arrange them evenly in the pan. Press dough into an even layer to fill the pan.

In a small bowl, beat the egg white with a pinch of salt. Brush mixture evenly over the dough. Sprinkle hazelnuts over the top; press down lightly. In another small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons sugar with the cinnamon and nutmeg and sprinkle over nuts. Sprinkle fleur de sel or sea salt over the top.

Bake, rotating the pan once halfway through baking, until golden brown and crisp, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and cut into 1- to 2-inch squares or diamonds. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Melt chocolate in a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Using a very small-tipped pastry bag or the tines of a fork, drizzle the chocolate over the tops of the shortbreads.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ingredients

• 2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 stick butter
• 3 eggs
• scant 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• 1 c. buttermilk
• Two pie crusts

Preparation

Cream sugar, flour, and butter. Blend in eggs. Add baking soda, vanilla, and buttermilk. Pour into two (yes, two) crusts. Bake at 300–325 degrees, for at least 1 hour or until set.

Ingredients

• 1 c. vegetable oil plus oil for the pan
• 1 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. light honey, such as clover
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 c. flat cola or brewed coffee, room temperature
• 1/3 c. slivered or sliced almonds
• 1/2 c. coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate or chips
• confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder, for dusting

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil the bottom and tube of a 9- or 10-inch angel-food-cake or tube pan. Cut out a circle of parchment or baking paper and line the bottom.

In a medium-size bowl, blend the oil with the sugars, honey and vanilla. Blend in the eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and slowly stir in the wet ingredients, slowly adding the cola (or coffee). Blend well to make a smooth batter.

Spoon the batter into the pan and sprinkle the top with slivered almonds.

Bake the cake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake for an hour, or until the cake springs back when touched. (Make sure the center of the cake, near the tube, springs back as well as the outer edge, or the center will remain undercooked.) Remove the cake from the oven.

Sprinkle on the chopped chocolate. Refrigerate the cake to set the chocolate. Once the chocolate is set, invert and remove the cake from the pan. To serve, dust the top with cocoa and/or confectioners’ sugar.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 1/3 c. cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 stick plus 3 tbsp. butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small bits

Preparation

1. Sift the flour, cocoa and baking soda together in small bowl; set aside. Beat the butter until smooth in bowl of an electric mixer at medium speed. Add the sugars, vanilla and salt; beat 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add the flour mixture, mixing until incorporated but still crumbly, and being careful not to overwork the dough. Stir in the chocolate pieces.

2. Turn the dough out onto a smooth work surface; squeeze it so that it sticks together in large clumps. (If you need to, it’s okay to lightly flour the work surface.) Gather the dough into a ball; divide in half. Shape each ball into a log 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap logs in plastic wrap; chill at least 1 hour.

3. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Gently slice logs into 1/2-inch rounds using a serrated knife (some will crumble; simply press broken bits back onto cookie). Place 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.

4. Bake, one sheet at a time, 14 minutes; cookies will not look done or be firm. Cool on pan 5 minutes; transfer to cooling rack. Cool to room temperature.

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 1/4 c. water
• 1 tsp. corn starch
• 1 1/2 c. blueberries
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. lemon juice

Pancakes:

• 1 c. milk
• 1 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. blueberries

Preparation

To make sauce, stir together water and cornstarch in saucepan. Stir in blueberries, sugar, and salt. Simmer 5 minutes or until blueberries cook down and liquid is thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Cover; set aside.

To make pancakes, stir together milk, butter, and egg in small bowl. In separate large mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients; stir until just blended. Fold in blueberries.

Grease griddle or heavy-bottomed skillet. Heat over medium heat until water sizzles when dropped on griddle. Drop batter by 1/4 cup measures onto griddle. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden. Serve pancakes with sauce.

Meijer