London Broil w/ Yorkshire Pudding

My dinner tonight if I can scoot out of work early enough to hit the grocer's before the raid. I, honestly, should have gotten the ingredients yesterday so the meat could marinate overnight; but, I'm craving it now...so now it will be.

Ingredients:

Flank steak
½ Cup flour
½ Cup milk
2 eggs
Vegetable oil
Worchester sauce
Garlic


Directions:

Take out your frustrations of the day upon the unsuspecting meat before you. Mallet in hand, lay waste to every moment of frustration that has dared to cross your path. If anything resembling a solid mass remains...

Place the flank steak in a container big enough to hold it comfortably. Crush the garlic and toss in with the meat. Pour the Worchester sauce over the meat and garlic. Place in fridge. Let sit overnight.

Preheat oven to about 425°F. Take a muffin tin (a pie tin works as well, by the way, if you want one large one instead of several small) and fill each cup with vegetable oil about ¼ way full. Place into the oven to heat.

In mixing bowl, dump the flour into the bowl. Crack the eggs and mix in with the milk in another bowl or measuring cup. I, personally, use a four cup measuring cup and just beat the eggs then add the milk and mix together (I like to save myself as much clean up as possible). Mix the egg/milk mixture into the flour. When thoroughly mixed, remove the tin from the oven and pour the batter into each cup to about half filled. Place back in the oven and let bake for about 15 min, or until they begin to brown.

Turn on the broiler and remove the meat from the marinade. Place on a broiling tin and slide into the broiler. Let cook for about 3 min and then flip. You do not want the meat to cook past medium rare. This generally takes about 10 min with a "standard" size "London Broil" cut from your local butcher. This is why you should start this step after you have placed your puddings in the oven to bake.

You may find that your oven does not allow you to broil and bake at the same time. If this is the case, that is ok. So long as you have preheated the oven, when you switch it over to broil, the oven will retain its heat and cook the puddings.

The meat should finish up about the same time as the puddings do. Turn the oven off and let the meat sit in the broiler (with it slightly cracked). Allow it to sit while you remove the puddings and pat the excess oil off.

If you have made one, large pudding, place it on the plate. Slice your London Broil diagonally across the grain (it's really important to do this, or your jaw will be most displeased with you). Place the slices of meat inside the pudding on the plate.

I generally serve this with a rich, brown gravy and green beans or peas. If you have made the large pudding all of this goes inside.

If you have made the individual ones, they tend to do something really neat. You get a little hole at the top. I pipe (using a pastry bag) the gravy into them and serve them beside the meat and beans. When you slice into the puddings, the gravy pours out.

No matter how you care to serve this simple meal - it's a classic that tops the charts.

Enjoy!

Tuna Casserole

It had totally slipped my mind that I had promised to post this. So, now that I've remembered, here it is.

Ingredients:

2 packages Tuna in water (or three tins)
1 can French cut green beans (I just prefer how they mix in, as opposed to the other types of cuts)
2 cans condensed Cream of Mushroom soup
2 cups rice (I generally use brown)
4 cups water
1 pound cheddar (I, personally, prefer sharp cheddar)
Black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (176.6°C). In a medium pot pour in the rice and the water. Do not cover. Bring to a boil and stir occassionally to keep the rice from sticking to the pot and burning. If you bought a block of cheddar instead of pre-shredded, I'd suggest grating it now while the rice is cooking.

After the water has evaporated, your rice is ready to use. Some prefer to do the "cover and ignore" for rice making and my friend prefers his steamer. All methods work, though I find mine is better for holding itself together when dishing it out the next day. This is a great recipe for leftover eating, by the way.

Dump the rice in a casserole dish. Mix in the condensed soup, do not add water. You want it in its condensed state. Open and drain the green beans and add them to the rice and soup. Open and drain the tuna and add it into the mixture in the casserole dish. Occassionally sprinkle in some black pepper. Mix it all up, and then smooth it relatively flat.

Grind a layer of black pepper over the top. Not so much you can't see through it, but a moderate amount.

Cover the mix with the cheese. All of the cheese.

Place it in the oven until the cheese begins to brown.

Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before serving. You'll burn the dickens out of yourself if you don't wait.

This, really, doesn't need anything with it. However, when I was at mom's and made it, she sliced up some fresh tomatoes and they complimented it really nicely.

Pomegranate Ginger Chicken dinner

Ingredients:

1 Pomegranate
1 small Ginger (fresh)
2 Chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
½ cup 2 tbsp Honey
¼ cup White Wine (Pinot Grigio is my favourite for cooking)

Mixed Baby greens (spinach, fancy leaf lettuce, celery leaves, mustard spinach)
1 small lemon

1 cup Couscous
1 ¼ cup Chicken stock
1 tbsp Butter (optional)
1 tsp Tumeric
1 tsp Basil
½ cup Morel mushrooms

1 cup Carrots

Directions:

If you get the mushrooms dried, get them softened and ready to use before beginning the rest. Chop them to bite sized pieces after they are softened. Set aside.

Warm about 2 tbsp water and mix in the 2 tbsp of the honey. Stir until the honey is dissolved. Squeeze half the lemon for its juice and strain. Mix the lemon juice in with the honey and water. Grate in about 1 tsp ginger. Stir. Set aside.

Seed the pomegranate. Be sure to wear something you do not mind ruining with pomegranate juice and an apron...they are messy! Once you seed it, fill the bowl holding the seeds with cold water. Stir the seeds around and the ones with pith still attached will tend to float to the top. You really want this pith gone because is has an astringent, bitter taste. Drain the seeds and set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 350° F(176.6° C).

Rinse baby greens and rip with your hands into a salad bowl. Squeeze half of the lemon into about a 1/2 cup of water and toss the salad with the water. Drain the salad. Set aside.

Put the stock for the couscous on to boil.

In a small mixing bowl, mix the ½ cup honey with the wine. Shred about ½ tsp ginger into the mixture and about ⅛ cup pomegranate (crush the seeds). Stir. Set aside.

Trim the chicken so there is no chicken fat. Oil down baking dish and place chicken within. Brush the chicken with the honey mix. Let cook for 10 min and flip the chicken. Brush with honey mix. Repeat until the chicken is cooked through - moist, but not dry. Generally 20 minutes works for me, but climate and elevation can change this, so just keep an eye on it.

The stock should have come to a boil by now, so put the butter, couscous, tumeric, basil and mushrooms into the water. Stir, cover and remove from the heat.

Toss the greens with the rest of the pomegranate seeds and the honey-lemon mix.

Now, I tend to quick stir fry my carrots so that they are barely heated through. I get baby carrots because I'm lazy like that. However, any carrots will work. If you choose to go with larger ones and want to boil them - you will need to start their boil about the time you mix the greens for the salad. If, however, you choose to stir fry them like I do, pull out your wok or frying pan and drizzle a little oil in it (I use garlic infused sesame, but any will work). A very, very tiny bit of oil. Toss the carrots in the pan until they are just heated through.

Remove the lid from the coucous and fluff with a fork. Place some on each plate in a small mound.

Remove the chicken from the oven and place a breast on each mound of couscous. Sprinkle some of the pomegranate seeds over for garnish.

Serve with the salad and carrots.

Simple Empanadas

Seriously, the simplest recipe in existence, just about.

Ingredients:

Ground meat of your choice / TVP (I used ground beef at my parents')
Taco Seasoning
Picante
Cheese - shredded
Biscuit mix (I use the already made stuff in the tins, and just go with it - so much faster)
Flower (just enough to sprinkle on the counter top)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350° F (176.6° C).

Cook ground meat/tvp with taco seasoning per seasoning instructions. After meat is finished cooking, sprinkle the counter with flour and roll out the biscuit dough so it is fairly thin. Place a line of meat across the center of the biscuit dough and add in picante and cheese to taste. Then fold over the dough to form a crescent. Press the edges together with a fork and place on a baking sheet (I place tin foil or parchment paper under them just to minimize clean up).

Sprinkle cheese over the top and place in the oven. Bake around 15 min or until dough begins to brown. Remove from oven and serve.

Decisions, decisions

So, I've decided I'm going to make some special cakes for the parties this season.

No, not fruitcake, thank you muchly for the kind thoughts, though. *chuckles*

Indeed, these are a little off the beaten path for holiday cakes, I do believe.

One that I really like the idea of is devil's food cake with caramel and fudge in the center, wrapped in rolled fondant and ribboned in chocolate.

Another is red velvet cake with rich chocolate and brandied cherries in the center, wrapped in rolled fondant and ribboned in chocolate.

I'm also considering making a white cake with a fudge center, wrapped in rolled fondant and ribboned in chocolate.

The thing is - which to make...or should I make one of each? See, none of these will actually be cake size. More like 4" (10.16cm) squares. Little "presents" that are quite delightful...someone could even take two - so they could have their cake and eat it, too! Ok ok...yeah, that was bad.

Anyway...suggestions on which to run with?
There are two types of fondant. There is French fondant which is a sugar syrup that is poured over the cake - you'd recognize it if you saw it. It makes a beautifully smooth, generally shiny coating over the cake/pastry and is oh so yummy.

Then there is rolled fondant. Rolled fondant is also known as sugarpaste (not nearly so lovely a name). It is an icing that gets rolled out into sheets and then can be molded or formed or cut out. Most wedding cakes and other fancy pants cakes are made with fondant icing.

Fondant in its liquid form is also often used to smooth out cakes so that more decorative icing can be applied over the top of it with a much smoother finish.

You can cut rolled fondant into shapes and airbrush them with food colouring to make decorations for your cakes as well. The bows I plan to make for the cakes will be done in fondant. And, I could make the ribbons in fondant, too...especially if I wanted to make the ribbons various colours. I could just knead in the colour I wanted until it was thoroughly mixed through the fondant, roll it out into thin strips and trim it up to be neat and then lay it in place and apply the "bows". The "bows" will be "stuck" on with corn syrup.

You can see a picture of (and instructions for) the kind of bow I'm going to attempt...well, if I have enough fondant!...at BakeDecorateCelebrate.

There are also great pictures that show French fondant, and rolled fondant at that site. I love it muchly...probably too much. *laughs*

[edit: I decided to make a holiday picture as well, instead of using one that was so premade, since I put the effort into the others...I'll tweak it when I get home and have access to my actual editing tools. My knitter friends should be amused. I hope, anyway ;-) ]

Spinach Leaf Wrap

It's been a while since I posted one of my recipes, and I thought - with the hot weather approaching (and here for some of us) - that a nice, cool finger food would be just the thing.


Kili's Spinach Wrap

1 bundle Fresh spinach (not the baby stuff, the real stuff)
1/2 pound Twaróg (any soft, creamy goat cheese will work, though)
2 tbsp heavy cream (might want more, or less - this really depends on how creamy your goat cheese starts out)
7 ounces Kalamata olives
6 sundried tomatoes
Handful of pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
1 sprig fresh dill
1 bundle of fresh rosemary (if you grow your own, a couple of sprigs will do)
6 ounces Prosciutto (thinly sliced smoked Salmon works as well)
White Wine (Pinot Grigio is my preference)
toothpicks

**my measurements here are educated guesses as I've always made this "by the seat of my pants"**

Wash the spinach thoroughly, trim, stem and pat dry. You want to be absolutely certain all the sand and grit are off of the leaves. If the leaves are very large, you may consider cutting them in half for easier use later.

In a food processor, place half of the "leaves" off the dill (if you don't have fresh, a pinch of dry will do), "leaves" off of one sprig of rosemary, the tomatoes, garlic (having peeled it first), about 7 olives (pits removed), and pine nuts^*. Blend until a paste forms. Then add the cheese and mix until well blended. At this point, begin to add the cream and just a splash of white wine. You are aiming for a mixture that is spreadable and creamy.^**

Lay a spinach leaf out flat, spread a thin layer of the cheese mix over the leaf, place a thin slice of Proscuitto/Salmon on the cheese and then roll the leaf to make a "wrap" - leaf side out. You can use a toothpick to hold the wrap closed if you desire. I generally just place it seal down on the platter.

Repeat this until one or all of your ingredients run out. I generally have enough of a snack here to make a nice, light meal. I suggest chilling this for about 30 minutes before serving so that it is nice and chilled.

Lay a sprig or two of rosemary on the side of the platter and sprinkle with chopped Kalamata olives for presentation.

Serve with the rest of the wine, good music and great company.

If you are using this as an appetizer for a dinner party, I would follow it with:

Smoked leg of lamb
Asparagus (tossed in a wok with a quality basalmic vinegar and EVOO and maybe a sprinkle of lemon salt - just long enough to warm the asparagus through, no longer)
Couscous (spiced with dill, rosemary, garlic and tarragon ...and I'm a mushroom fanatic so I'd prolly toss in some morels as well)
Rolls w/ honey butter
A nice Merlot

^* Note: I've occassionally tossed capers into this mix. If you do - be sure to reduce the number of olives or you over salt yourself big time.

^** Note: I would avoid using a red wine for this. However, if you do not wish to use wine, a nice EVOO will work as well.

^*** Note: This cheese mixture also tastes great as a spread for crackers.

Kili's Stuffed Beef Tenderloin

Kili's Stuffed Beef Tenderloin
Servings vary depending on tenderloin size

1 whole beef tenderloin
1 cup feta
20 ounces fresh, chopped spinach
3 sundried tomatoes in oil
1 handful of black, Greek olives
1 handful morel mushrooms
Basil
Thyme
Rosemary
Toothpicks

Crust:
1 egg
Italian bread crumbs

Marinade:
1 cup merlot
1 diced yellow onion
3 crushed garlic cloves
crushed Black pepper

Garnish:
A sprig of rosemary
chopped black olives


Directions:

MARINADE: Combine merlot, onion, garlic, black pepper. Slice tenderloin lengthwise in a spiral cut to lay open. Place in container and cover with marinade. Let stand for 1 hour in refridgerator. Turn over, let stand another hour.

FILLING: Crumble feta into medium bowl. Add spinach. Dice the sundried tomatoes, olives and morels. Mix in with the feta. Add one pinch basil, thyme and rosemary.

In a small bowl, whisk egg.

Take tenderloin from the marinade and lay on a broiler safe baking sheet. Place filling along the center of the tenderloin, lengthwise. You are going to roll the tenderloin closed and "pin" the edges together with the toothpicks. I, personally, use a long, metal sheeskabob skewer just for safety's sake since this is going in a broiler.

Coat tenderloin in egg and roll in the bread crumbs. Place tenderloin on the baking sheet and place in broiler. After two minutes, turn tenderloin over and let broil another 3 minutes.

This gives you a medium rare tenderloin...at least in my oven. Oven broilers vary, and you may need to cook slightly longer depending on your range.

Remove from broiler, carefully remove toothpicks/skewer and place on serving plate with sealed side down.

Place a sprig of fresh rosemary to the side and sprinkle chopped olives over the top.

Serve immediately.

Cheesecake recipe

Please excuse the crappy photo. Still don't have a real camera.

Crust:

1 C flour
1/4 C Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa
1/4 C sugar
1 t lemon zest
1 t mandarin zest
1/2 t Villa Vanilla pure vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1/3 C Irish unsalted sweet cream butter (softened)

Filling:

5 pkgs (8oz) cream cheese
1 3/4 C sugar
5 T all purpose flour
1 1/2 t lemon zest
1 1/2 t mandarin zest
1/4 t Villa Vanilla pure vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 C vanilla yogurt
1 shot Grand Mariner
Juice from two mandarin oranges

Topping:

½ bar Ghirardelli dark chocolate (grated)
1 Terry’s Chocolate Orange

....Additional items....

9.5 inch (24.13 cm) spring pan
Rolling pin
Extra flour


Instructions - crust bottom:

Preheat oven to 400° F (204.5° C).

In a small bowl mix all crust ingredients with finger tips until it forms a smooth round ball. Wrap in wax paper and chill for ~30 min. Break off one third of the dough and place the remaining back into the chiller. I always have issues getting my dough from the table top to the bottom of the pan, so I use the following method.

Lightly flour the working surface and the rolling pin. Flatten the dough and lightly roll until about 1/4" ( .635 cm). Place the dough onto the bottom of the spring pan and slightly coat the rolling pin again with flour. Roll out the dough on the bottom of the pan until it is even with the lip. Then, using your fingers, lightly stretch the dough until it completely covers the bottom of the spring pan.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the crust is slightly crisp.

Remove and place on cooling racks. Let cool completely.

Instructions - Filling:

Preheat the oven to 500° F (260° C)

In a large bowl alternate mixing the creamed cheese, the eggs and egg yolks, the flour and the sugar. Somewhere in the process add in the zests, mandarin juice and Grand Marnier. Once the mixture is thoroughly mixed (but with a few lumps) add the vanilla and yogurt.


Instructions - construction:

Now that the bottom sections are completely cooled, place the spring form on the bottom of the pan and lock down.

Take the remaining dough and roll out fairly thin. Cut into 2 1/2" (6.35 cm) strips and fit to the sides of the spring form, sealing the sides to the bottom. Pour in the filling and place in the center of the oven.

After 10 minutes reduce the temperature to 250° F (121° C) and bake for an hour, or until the center just jiggles. Remove to a cooling rack for several hours and chill thoroughly.

Just before serving, grate the dark chocolate bar over the top of the chessecake and then place slices of the Terry's Orange around the center.

This recipe should comfortably serve 12.

Clafoutis

My plan for what next to make for the boys at work.

Two Berry Clafoutis
Serves 6.

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 ounces whole, blanched almonds
1 ounce whole macadamia nuts
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon light rum
Confectioner's sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8-inch-square baking dish with one tablespoon of the butter. Melt the remaining butter and set aside.

Mix the flour, macadamia nuts and almonds together and place in a food processor until finely ground. Add the sugar and cornstarch (a pinch of salt if desired) and mix again. Mix in the eggs one by one, being sure to mix thoroughly after each addition. Pour in the liquid ingredients (including the melted butter from earlier), and mix again until well blended. The mixture will be thin, like crepe batter.

Cut the berries into bite sized bits, and arrange in a single layer in the prepared dish. Drizzle the batter over the berries. Put the dish in the oven to bake for 40 minutes, until puffy and set.

Transfer dish to a rack, and let cool to room temperature.

Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar, and serve directly from the baking dish.

---

Knitting oriented, I've made a wee bit of progress on the Kiri and the socks and the garter stitch shawl is flying along. The Ark is just something I can't seem to get my heart into, right now. I think because the weather has been in the 90's recently, and working with that wool is making my hands sweat.

I had a great time out at Borders with the LSSK gals the other night and look forward to the weekend visit on the 21st down in Buda.

Chicken Florentine:

INGREDIENTS:

20 ounces fresh, chopped spinach
1/4 cup butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
Basil (to taste)
Thyme (to taste)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup and 3/4 cup half-and-half or whipping cream
5 cups cooked chicken, sliced
3/4 cup chicken broth
Pepper (to taste)
Fresh, grated Parmesan cheese
Pasta of choice

PREPARATION:

Cook spinach (if using frozen instead of fresh, follow package instructions), drain well.

In a skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter; add minced garlic, basil, and thyme. Mix in 2 tbsp flour. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes. Add 1/3 cup half-and-half and the spinach; simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Cook chicken and cut into slices and add into sauce pan with spinach.

Over medium low heat, melt remaining butter and blend in remaining flour, stirring until smooth. Gradually stir in 3/4 cup half-and-half and 3/4 cup chicken broth; continue cooking and stirring until thickened. Season with pepper.

Add to the sauce pan with the chicken and spinach. Simmer for 10 min while cooking pasta.

Serve over pasta with garlic bread and top with freshly grated paremssan.

Kilsharion's Apple Streusel Cobbler

Ingredients:

Filling:
5 tart/mixed apples
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 lemon

Batter:
2 eggs
1 can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. granulated sugar
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tbsp. butter

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375°F.

For Filling: Peel, core and slice the apples. Put a tsp of fresh squeezed lemon juice in enough water to cover the apples and let them rest there until ready to put into the baking dish. Make the slices a decent size or the apples will desentigrate while cooking. Place in the bottom of a 9 inch square baking dish. Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon together and put over the apples. The apples will supply enough juice from the baking process to turn this into a nice filling. You can add some butter to this filling, if you wish. I wouldn't go over 2 tbsp, though.

For Batter: Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together liquid ingredients in a small bowl and slowly mix into the dry mixture. Beat until smooth. Pour into baking dish over the apples and sugar mixture.

For Streusel Topping: Combine 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon in small bowl. Cut in 2 tablespoons butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Bake about 30 minutes at 375°F or until apples are soft and the batter is starting to brown very slightly. Sprinkle the Streusel topping over the hot cobbler and bake for 10 more minutes.

NOTE: This recipe calls for Condensed milk, NOT evaporated milk.

© 2001

Kilsharion's Fruit Tart

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour/wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar (or Splenda)
1/2 cup butter (or Veggie butter)
1 egg (or egg substitute)
powdered sugar

Filling:
12 ounces cream cheese (or Veggie cream cheese)
1/3 cup sour cream (or Veggie sour cream)
1/2 cup sugar (or Splenda)
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange rind
3 tablespoons orange juice

Puree*:
2.5 cups mixed berries (this batch has strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries) or other fruit preference
7 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot
1 1/2 tablespoons water

Garnish:
Whole berries or diced fruit, amount to personal taste

Directions:

1. For crust: In large mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, egg and butter. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often until mixture is well combined. This should take 7 or 8 minutes. Mixture will be very sticky. Use the powdered sugar to coat hands and take pieces of the dough and press to 1/4" thickness on bottom and sides of 10" tart pan with removable bottom. It works best if you sprinkle the powdered sugar over it as you press it out, too. This will help keep you from getting stuck to your dough. Chill for 1 hour. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. You may have some raised areas, where the dough has lifted a little. If this happens, simply press down on the cooked dough and it will reconform to the shape desired.

2. For filling: Beat together softened cream cheese with sour cream. Add sugar, grated rind and juice and beat until smooth. Spread evenly over prepared crust and refrigerate.

3. For puree: Rinse processor. Place berries in bowl and process until pureed. Place in saucepan and cook on medium heat 2 to 3 minutes. Add sugar and continue to cook another 5 minutes. Gradually add arrowroot mixture to thicken. Cool.

4. Pour cooled puree over filling. Garnish by placing fresh or partially thawed individual berries/diced fruit over top. Refrigerate at least two hours or until serving time.

Just before serving, remove sides of pan. Best when served within 24 hours.

Serves 8-10

_{* For a more colorful approach, try using different color fruit purees. Cover half the filling with berry puree and other half with peach puree. Garnish with fresh or partially thawed berries, diced peaches and sliced or diced kiwi in a decorative line where the two colors meet.}

© 1998

Kilsharion's Mediterranean Chicken/Tofu

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts/extra firm tofu
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
8 oz Feta
3 oz Sundried tomatoes
Basil
Oregano
Sage
Black Pepper (if you have it on hand, a mix of black, white, green and pink pepper works wonderfully)
Water
2 cups Fresh/refrigerated Tortellini (not dried, if you used dried, figure in a longer
cooking time for the tortellini. Personally, I prefer to make my own so I control what's in them)
1 cup white Wine (Pinot Grigio is what I use)
1 cup White wine Worchester sauce (also known as Worchester sauce for chicken)

Directions:

DO NOT ADD SALT TO THIS RECIPE. Sorry for the caps, but if you do, you will be inundated with salt. The worchester sauce is very salty; and, after reducing while melting/dissolving the feta, it gets even more so. Not to mention the salt in the feta itself.

In a medium sauce pan combine white wine, white whine worchester (also labeled as worchester for chicken, now days). Place over medium heat and bring to a soft boil. Crumble the Feta into the liquid. Chop the sundried tomatoes, basil, oregano, and sage and set aside to add later. You can use dried herbs, if you do just add them when told - later in the process.

Put on your water to begin to boil for tortellini.

Take a skillet and pour a small amount of extra virgin olive oil. Once heated, add the boneless, skinless chicken breasts. If using extra firm tofu, cube the tofu into 1/2 inch (or bite size for you) pieces and then add to the pan.

(if you want garlic bread, preheat the oven, now)

Keep an eye on the sauce. Stir it every few minutes and once the feta begins to dissolve, reduce the heat to keep it at a very soft simmer.

Once the chicken is completed cooking through, take off the skillet and cube into 1/2 inch (or bite size for you) pieces. If working with tofu, just take the skillet off the heat.

(if you want garlic bread, put it in the oven, now)

Once the sauce has dissolved most of the feta and there are just small bits of the cheese left, add the chicken/tofu and sundried tomatoes. Allow to cook for another 10 minutes so that the flavor permeates the chicken/tofu.

Add the tortellini to the boiling water.

Now add the chopped herbs and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Remove tortellini from boiling water.

Remove sauce from heat.

Serve over tortellini immediately.

Enjoy!!

_{Recipe for two.}

Note: If you make this, please let me know what you think. I'd love feedback.

© 1995

Kilsharion's Onion Bread

Ingredients:

2 pkgs active yeast
6 cups 12 grain flour
2 pkgs onion soup mix
salt
water

Directions:

Mix active yeast and 1 1/2 cups warm water. Put 4 cups of flour in large mixing bowl, blend in active yeast liquid with paddle attachment. Add 1/4 cup water and salt (to taste). Add in 2 cups flour and the onion soup mix and beat with bread hook for 10 minutes.

Cover and let rise to three times its size. Punch down. Repeat. Punch down. Repeat. (you can only do this two time instead of three if you prefer)

Bake in 325 degree F oven for 40 to 45 minutes.

Note: this is a very heavy bread.
© 2005