Wine & Plum

Kosher for Passover, delicious anytime!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 10 oz good-quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 cup butter
• mint springs and assorted berries for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 F. Grease a 10″ springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
2. In a small saucepan, combine chocolate and butter. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until completely melted. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, cocoa, and salt with a whisk. Add eggs and vanilla; whisk until smooth. Add 1/3 of chocolate mixture and stir until incorporated; repeat with remaining 2/3 of chocolate.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes until just set but still soft in the center. Let cool completely.
5. Sift confectioner’s sugar over the top of the cake. Garnish with mint and berries.

Not as good as Ms. Cindy’s authentic Louisiana gumbo, but since she would never share her recipe with me, this will have to do. ;)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb shrimp
• 1 tsp seasoning
• 1/2 lb andouille sausage
• 1 1/2 T butter
• 2 ribs celery
• 1 bell pepper
• 1/2 large onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 T pepper sauce
• 2 T flour
• 2 c stock
• 1 1/2 c okra
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 T fresh thyme, chopped
• 4 scallions, sliced at an angle

Directions:

1. Head butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add celery, pepper, onion, bay leaf. Season to taste. Cook 3-5 minutes.
2. Add flour and cook 2 more minutes.
3. Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Add okra, shrimp, and sausage. Stir in tomatoes and half the thyme. Bring back to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer 5 minutes.
4. Season to taste. Serve over rice, garnished with thyme and scallions.

Super healthy soup has a creamy texture without using any dairy.

From Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 medium leeks, green parts discarded and white parts washed and chopped
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 2 c stock
• 2 T fresh basil, chopped
• 2-3 c fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1-2 c cooked chicken

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add garlic, leeks, and zucchini. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add 1 cup stock/broth. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add basil and the rest of the stock/broth. Puree until smooth.
4. Stir in spinach and chicken. Cook 4-5 minutes.

Potluck classic!

Ingredients

• 8 oz elbow pasta, cooked al dente
• 1 12-oz can evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 c milk
• 1/4 c (1/2 stick) melted butter
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper to taste
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 10-oz packages cheddar cheese, shredded (about 5 c)
• paprika

Directions

1. Mix pasta, evaporated milk, milk, butter, salt and pepper, eggs, and all but 1/2 c shredded cheese in the slow cooker. Sprinkle reserved cheese and then paprika over top.
2. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Excellent for brunch or really any time!

Ingredients:

Crust

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• salt and pepper
• 10 T cold butter, cubed
• 1/3 c ice water

Filling

• 2 lbs sweet potatoes
• 1/2 c milk
• 1/2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c parmesan, shredded
• 2 cloves minced garlic, minced
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. For the crust: Pulse flour and spices together in food processor until mixed; add cold butter and pulse until it creates crumbs. Drizzle cold water and pulse until the dough comes together. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate 1 hour to 2 days.
2. In a large pot, bring the sweet potatoes to boil in salted water. Reduce to medium-low and simmer for 50 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; remove peels.
3. In a small bowl, stir together milk and olive oil; set aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat sweet potatoes and butter together until smooth. Stir in milk mixture, eggs, parmesan, and garlic until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Preheat oven to 350 F. Roll dough and press into pie pan. Pour filling into crust. Bake 55-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool about 5 minutes, and serve hot.

This delicious puréed soup is excellent as a side or a meal. I’ve played around with the recipe a couple times, and it always comes out easy and yummy and very lemony. So it’s pretty flexible if you want to make a few edits of your own.

In general, I change the original recipe to chicken stock (instead of vegetable broth) and add chickpeas for more protein. I also leave out cream/milk because it’s plenty thick on its own. Also, the first time I made it, I was pregnant and I had run out of milk thanks to my chocolate milk craving, but that’s just coincidence. ;)

Other times, I’ve added extra ginger, which is my favorite, pregnant or not. I’ve also added pumpkin purée when I had about 257 cups of it in the freezer after my adventure in pumpkin roasting. Once I did carrots plus a few parsnips. So yeah, feel free to edit the recipe to suit your needs and tastes. For example, it’s super easy to make this vegan if you so desire. It’s hard to mess this one up, and other than the time it takes to chop up a bunch of veggies, it’s straightforward and fast.

I had mine with a couple slices of baguette, a hunk of cheese, and bacon crumbled on top. Enjoy!

Lemony Carrot Soup

1/4 C butter or coconut oil
1 1/2 C chopped onion
1 T chopped or minced ginger
1 1/2 tsp (~3 cloves) chopped or minced garlic
1 lb carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
zest of 1 lemon (about 1.5 tsp)
juice of 1 lemon (about 2 T, reserved)
4 C vegetable or chicken stock
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo peas), drained and rinsed

Heat butter/oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 4 minutes. Then add the ginger and garlic; cook for 2 more minutes.

Add the carrots, tomatoes, and grated lemon peel; stir well and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and the chickpeas, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until carrots are tender — about 20 minutes.

Blend well with an immersion blender or in batches in a food processor. Stir in lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

OMG this pie is so wonderful. It’s like a chocolate chip cookie pie. But the texture is super soft and amazing. My mom said it reminded her of a 7-layer magic bar. Everyone has their own version of this classic chocolate nut pie, but apparently there’s an official one.

I got my recipe from a book club friend. She had brought her delicious derby pie to book clubs and gatherings a few times, and I told her I really needed the recipe for myself.

For Pi Day last weekend, I made two derby pies and a savory sweet potato pie. One of the derby pies was the classic recipe I’ll share below. For the other one, I substituted pecans for walnuts and I replaced half the chocolate chips with peanut butter chips. Both versions were amazing and received lots of compliments. Feel free to play around with the fillings for yours!

Derby Pie

Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons cold milk
1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tablespoons Kahlua
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

For the crust: Mix together flour, oil, milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, and salt. Knead and mix with your hands until it comes together evenly. Spread mixture into a 9″ pie pan, pushing dough evenly across the bottom and up the sides.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs and butter; mix to combine. Stir in the Kahlua, vanilla, and salt. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips.

Pour mixture into unbaked pie crust. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool before slicing.