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“Waste not, want not and make it delicious.” — Lidia Bastianich

White Chocolate Berry Parfait Recipe

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I admit that I’m not much of a white chocolate fan.  It’s not to say I hate white chocolate – I don’t.  I just wouldn’t ever choose to order it.  I know I will get emails telling me how wrong I am, but that’s just my personal preference.  My family, on the other hand, that’s a different story – they LOVE white chocolate.  So over the years I have made white chocolate recipes to satisfy them and normally I don’t eat them.  This White Chocolate Berry Parfait recipe is an exception.  I eat this white chocolate berry parfait and consider it a fine desert, which for a white chocolate “snob” like me is really saying something.

White Chocolate Berry Parfait Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

4 egg yolks

8 ounces of white baking chocolate

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 cups whipped cream (cream already whipped)

6 cups fresh berries (your choice)

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream to just a boil, stirring constantly.

In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks until combined.

Gradually temper the egg mixture (pour about 1/3 of the hot cream into the eggs, stirring constantly) and then add to hot cream.  Cook and stir for 2 – 3 minutes or until it is 160 degrees and thickened.

Stir in white chocolate until it melts and add vanilla.

Cool to room temperature (about 20 minutes).

Fold in whipped cream (trying to keep it light as you go (make figure 8s through the mixture with a spatula.)

Fill 4 parfait glasses 1/4 full with cream, add berries, top with 1/4 more, repeat 2 more times.

Cover and refrigerate until chilled (minimally 1 1/2 hours).  Garnish with additional berries and serve.

Makes 4 large parfaits or 8 smaller parfaits.

Baked French Toast With Maple Syrup Recipe

I  know that many are on the Paula Deen bash wagon right now, but this recipe should be repeated for those who don’t have diabetes.  It’s really easy to make the night before breakfast.  It’s perfect when you need a get out of the house early breakfast, but you aren’t going to have a lot of time in the morning.  Secondly, and more importantly, it is delicious.  So here is Paula Deen’s Baked French Toast with Maple Syrup recipe.

Ingredients:

1 loaf French bread

8 large eggs

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

dash salt

Praline topping, recipe follows

Maple syrup

Directions:

Slice French bread into slices.  Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 x 13 inch baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Beat with a whisk until blended but not too bubbly.

Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture.  Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices.

Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spread praline topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden.  Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well.  Makes enough for the casserole.

 

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Sweet Pork Chops with Corn stuffing recipe

Brown sugar, honey mustard, cornbread, pork chops……. What’s not to like? Easy enough to finish on a jammed pack school night.

Sweet Pork Chops with corn stuffing

Ingredients:

6 pork chops (actually the rest of this recipe will work for 4 – 8)

5 tablespoons brown sugar

4 teaspoons honey Dijon mustard

3 cups cornbread stuffing (Pepperidge Farm preferred)

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 onion, chopped

1/2 stick butter

2 cans cream of corn

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small saucepan, cook onion in butter.

In a bowl, mix stuffing, paprika, cream of corn, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and melted butter with onion.

Layer mixed stuffing in a 13 x 9 pan, arrange pork chops on top of stuffing.  Combine 4 tablespoons brown sugar and 4 teaspoons dijon mustard until they create a paste.  Spread paste on top of pork chops.

Bake uncovered for 35 – 40 minutes depending on the thickness of your chops.  Let chops rest for 5 – 10 minutes covered in foil, before serving.

 

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Banana Bread Recipe

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Banana bread, warm from the oven…….. fragrant, tactile crumb, delicious.  This recipe is for those who don’t like or can’t eat nuts.  Almost every recipe I have for Banana bread is for Banana Nut Bread and I have to omit the nuts.  This recipe is designed without nuts, but of course you can add them if you so desire.

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Shredded Pork with Creamy Tomatillo Dressing Recipe

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I like this recipe for several reasons.  it’s a great weeknight meal, it’s easily adaptable for your palate – from sweet to spicy and it can be adapted to serve from a small to large group.

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Grandma’s Rolls

I started 2012 with the promise that I would commit myself to all things yeast and tonight I attempted my Grandmother’s rolls.  A daunting task.

When I was young we would drive to my grandmother’s house several states away and we arrived to the smell of rolls in the oven.  My grandmother would pull them from the oven and brush them with melted butter and we would argue over who got the center roll.  She made us wait for them to cool enough to handle…..  They were always 4” high at least and they were so tender they melted in your mouth.  So it was with fear in my heart that I attempted a recipe that I didn’t think anyone could do as well as her.

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Pass the salt!

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Salt.  It seasons food and preserves food.  Salt is boiled down and crystallized to different levels of fineness.  The debate over taste or which salt is superior is all a matter of personal preference.  I don’t profess to be an expert.  This is just what I’ve learned over the years about salt.  I’m sure there is a lot more information available, but over the years family members keep asking the question of which salt to use for what recipe so it spurred me to write this little clip.

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