Witch's Brew Punch

This is my very favorite punch recipe for fall/winter---nothing like it:

2 qts apple juice, set aside 7 cups
3/4 c. sugar
1 teas ea. cinnamon, nutmeg (I grate mine fresh), allspice
1 12 oz. OJ concentrate
1 qt ginger ale

In saucepan combine apple juice setting 7 cups aside, sugar, spices. Stir over med. heat till sugar dissolves. Cool. In lg serving bowl, combine 7 c of remaining apple juice, OJ concentrate, sugar mixture with juice that has cooled and mix well. Pour gingerale over. Add ice. Garnish with orange slices.

Makes 3 quarts.

Couscous side dish

In a saucepan (1-2 qt), add 2 Tblsp. olive oil. Heat & add 1/2 cup chopped onion & 4-6 minced cloves of garlic, depending on how garlicky you like things. Stir now & then, making sure it doesn't burn - once it's cooked & translucent, add:

1-1/4 cup chicken stock

1/2 c. (thawed) frozen or fresh peas

1/4 c. minced roasted red pepper

6 minced dried apricots

1/4 tsp. Trader Joe's 21-season salute (a GREAT blend!) you can use a seasoned salt but .....

freshly ground pepper (liberal amount)

several shakes (spiciness to taste) of ground cayenne

Raise heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup of couscous to pot, stir & then remove from heat. Cover and let it sit 5-10 minutes. Stir and serve immediately or chill and enjoy it cooled off. It was a tasty side dish last night served with heavily seasoned & oiled grilled sirloin steaks.

Irish Soda Bread

Recipe will be posted soon; it's one of the best I've tried!

Instead of retyping the recipe, here's the link to the recipe I used. It has step-by-step instructions and colored photographs; you cant miss with this one!

Enjoy!

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/irish_soda_bread/

King Cake

Especially for Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras:

If you've never baked yeast bread before, you may want to find another more detailed recipe with more detailed instructions. The recipe below is somewhat abbreviated:

Makes 2 King Cakes:
Dissolve 4-1/2 tsps. dry yeast in 2/3 c. warm water mixed with 1 T. sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes.
In a bowl, add 1/4 c. melted butter & 1 C. warm milk.

In a large bowl, combine both liquids. Add:
1/2 C. white sugar
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
5-1/2 cups white flour (a little at a time, making a pliable dough)

Mix well, knead for 5 minutes until smooth & elastic. Turn dough into a greased bowl, cover with a damp towel & let rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

Make filling: In a bowl, combine & mix well, set aside:
3/4 C. brown sugar
1 Tblsp. cinnamon
2 cups chopped pecans
1/2 cup flour
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup melted butter

When dough is ready, divide in half. Roll onto a floured board into 2 rectangles, approx. 8" X 20". Spread half the filling onto one end (the long way) and roll up - jelly roll style - tightly. Form into a ring, sealing the ends firmly. At this time, you CAN (not mandatory) 'HIDE' a little, tiny BOY figurine under/inside the dough, concealing it completely.

Place the dough rings on 2 parchment covered baking pans. Cover lightly & let rise for 45 minutes.

Put sheets in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until tops are golden. Rotate sheets once halfway thru baking time.

Remove from oven. Let cool an hour and then brush with icing (1 C. powdered sugar mixed with 1 Tblsp. water), and then sprinkle with colored sugar (authentic colors: purple, yellow, green).

Whoever gets the piece with the baby inside, gets good luck along with it!

For more information about King Cakes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cake

Christmas cookies

For dogs: Health squares & Gingersnaps

For humans: Coconut thins, White chocolate pretzels, Neapolitan slices, Highland fudge bars, Vanilla bean biscotti, English tea cookies, Oatmeal cranberry chews, Gingersnaps, Vanilla drops, Triple chocolate chips, Butter rounds, Apricot oat bars, Red/Green butter cookies, Toffee bars, Chocolate chips, Kolacky, Double chocolate biscotti, Snickerdoodles, Spritz w/brown butter icing, decorated cut-out sugar cookes

Merry Christmas to ALL !!!!

<3<3<3

JO 'S ITALIAN DREAM DELIGHT

MIX A SMALL CAN CRUSHED PINEAPPLE (10 0Z) UNDRAINED WITH ABOUT 1/2 C . SUGAR ,1 C. THAWED COOL WHIP AND 1 0Z. MARSACAPONE CHEESE ( ITALIAN CREAM CHEESE) MIX WELL TILL SMOOTH AND CREAMY ( CAN USE KITCHEN AID DOES THE JOB GREAT).SPREAD THIS MIXTURE OVER LADY FINGERS ( SUGAR SIDE UP) IN LIKE A 8X8 PAN THEN WILL MAKE 2 OR USE LARGER PAN IF DESIRED , I DOUBLE THE RECIPE AND MADE 3 8X8 PANS ,THEN ADD ANOTHER LAYER OF FINGERS OPPOSITE OF FIRST LAYER , TOP AGAIN . MAY ADD CHOPPED WALNUTS SPRINKLED ON TOP ! COVER & REFRIGERATE FOR A LEAST OVERNITE OR LONGER IS THE BEST SO THE LADY FINGERS GET A LITTLE SOFTER . LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS SINCE ITS MY OWN RECIPE :))

Oven French toast with berries

This is a delicious brunch dish to make, especially for Christmas, New Year's Day or any holiday when you don't want to fuss around the first thing in the morning. It's already prepared and just needs to be popped into the oven and baked!

Spray a 9x13" pan with nonstick spray.
Thinly slice up a loaf of French/Italian bread into 1/4" slices- there should be approx. 24 thin slices.
Have ready: 6-8 cups frozen (separated, not clumped together) berries - sprinkled & gently tossed with 1 Tblsp. cornstarch.

In a mixing bowl, measure and mix together:
2 cups milk (2% or whole)
1 cup half & half
1 cup dairy eggnog OR heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
6 extra large beaten eggs
1 teasp. vanilla

Pour 1/3 of the milk mixture on the bottom of the pan. Lay half the bread slices on top of the milk, overlapping the slices. Place half the berries evenly over the top of the bread.

Pour 1/3 of the milk mixture over the berries/bread. On top of that, lay the other half of the bread slices, overlapping as needed. Place the other half of the berries evenly over the bread.

Pour the remaining 1/3 of the milk mixture over the bread & berries. Cover with foil & refrigerate for 6 hours, or preferably, overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the berry toast for 45 minutes, or until the middle is set and the top is golden. Serve with heavy cream or syrup, dusted with powdered sugar or topped with additional berries.

Sausage-egg-cheese breakfast bake

Here's another 'no-brainer' for holiday mornings or ANY morning!

Spray a 9 X 13" pan with nonstick spray.
Cube 8 slices of plain, white or LIGHT wheat bread. Scatter the bread cubes in the pan evenly.

Saute a 1# roll of loose breakfast sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks. Drain any excess fat from the pan, but leave a Tblsp. or 2 for flavor. Cool - break into small pcs. and spoon the sausage over the bread cubes evenly.

Sprinkle 1# of shredded co-jack cheese evenly over the bread & sausage.

In a mixing bowl, beat 8 eggs with 2 cups of milk. Add 1/4 tsp. pepper. You don't really need salt since the sausage is pretty salty already. Slowly pour the milk/eggs over the top of the pan mixture - let it sit for a couple minutes to absorb.

Cover with foil. Refrigerate several hours or preferably, overnight.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake - UNcovered - for 45-60 minutes, until the top is golden and the center is set.

Kolacky

This recipe makes approx. 50 cookies; double amt. of ingredients you'd like a larger batch.

Have 1 can of Solo filling (any flavor; apricot, raspberry, prune, apple, poppy seed....) on hand. You should use the entire can for this recipe.

Cream together:

1/2 cup softened butter

2 oz. softened cream cheese (that's 1/4 of a standard 8 oz. brick)

1/4 c. powdered sugar

1-1/4 cups flour

Dough will be too sticky to roll out. Wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate at least an hour or 2 for easier handling.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out dough into a rectangle or square, to about 1/8" thickness. Carefully, score the dough evenly & cut into approx. 1-1/2" squares. One at a time, using a floured spatula, lift each square of dough and put a scant 1/4 tsp. of filling into the center. Gather up 2 opposite corners of square and bring up, pinching together to form a little 'bow'. Place on ungreased baking sheets, leaving an inch between each cookie.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the bottoms are just golden. Cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar when cool

Cape Cod crab cakes

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl:

1 Lb. lump white crab meat

1/3 c. minced yellow (red or green) pepper

1/2 c. minced onion

2 Tblsp. worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. dried mustard powder

1 tsp. dijon mustard

2 med. beaten eggs

1/4 c. breadcrumbs (UNseasoned)

1 Tblsp. minced parsley

2 Tblsp. mayonnaise

salt & pepper to taste

Form into 8 balls- pat down into thick patties. Flatten slightly and dip both sides into Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and place on a platter covered with waxed paper - chill in 'fridge for an hour before frying.

In a large 12-14" frying pan (make sure you don't crowd these while frying!) heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil until hot, but not smoking. Gently place the crab cakes in the pan and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove from pan to a serving platter.

Serve with tartar sauce, shrimp/cocktail sauce or whatever else floats your boat.