Pasta Night - Cooking Group

Hi Cooking Group!

We had a wonderful and educational Pasta and Sauces Night Thursday night. Thank you to Shirley Morain for opening your house again and thank you to Sarah Lockerman for demonstrating fresh pasta! Fresh pasta, though it takes a lot of prep and elbow grease, is hands down tastier than packaged!

Speaking of Packaged Pasta, we taste tested three of the top brands (gleaned from several chef blogs and articles) that can be found at your local supermarket. As a side note, if you want authentic, traditional and straight from the Old Country, Martelli Pasta is the number one rated if you are willing to pay around $10 for a 1 lb bag. The three brands I cooked were Barilla, De Cecco, and the O Organics spaghettis (several taste tests across the web used spaghetti, but Brittany mentioned that using a different type pasta could help differentiate in taste testing). They were all measured 8oz dry and boiled in three different pots with 1 gallon of water + 1 TBSP salt in each pot. Why 1 TBSP? According to an Italian chef, the key is to salt your water as the sea. 1 TBSP: 1 Gal : 8oz dried pasta 

We all agreed the salt does flavor the pasta. Some preferred less salt. The most preferred of the three brands according to one site was De Cecco, but surprisingly, our cooking group chose Barilla, which happens to claim it is the #1 preferred brand in Italy on its box. Barilla is also the most inexpensive to buy of the three, just under $1 a box when on sale. According to one blog, the way the pasta is cooked is more important than what brand or kind.

Sarah did a great job demonstrating fresh pasta. 

Pasta Dough

2 C Flour (all purpose)

3 Large whole eggs

1/2 tsp salt

Splash of Olive oil

Form a well in the middle of flour and add all the ingredients.

Knead all ingredients for 15 min.

Let the dough rest at least 1 hour, but from her family's experience, let the dough rest in the fridge for 24 hours. This is also confirmed from one of the blogs I read. The colder, firmer and more hydrated the dough, it will be easier to roll through machine. Shriveling dough after rolling means, let the dough rest.

She made fettuccine using a pasta rolling machine (hand crank style). Laminate (fold over several times) and roll through a few times until you get a good looking pasta sheet. She then made fettuccine noodles and placed on a noodle rack that looks like a tree. Then we boiled (using same ratio of water to salt) the fresh noodles. 2 min=al dente (firm to the tooth) and 5 min for softer. Most everyone liked the 5 min for softer texture. 

We tried Sara Seipert's Spaghetti Bolognese which was amazing (thank you!).She made it in the famous Insta-Pot! Her recipe is found here: https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-spaghetti-bolognese/?utm_source=socialshare&utm_campaign=mail 

Dina, her friend, was gracious enough to send Sara with some brown rice pasta (which takes a bit longer to cook). The brand is Jovial. Dina has tried several gluten free pastas and this brand and kind of pasta is the best tasting. Some at our gathering would say it has a faint nutty taste. We enjoyed trying it and it tasted pretty good! Thank you Dina!

Another option for gluten free was Crystal's spaghetti squash. I was first introduced to this fun vegetable by Crystal and glad she came yesterday with it! Crystal cut the spaghetti squash in half and placed upside down on a baking sheet and baked for 45 minutes at 400 degrees. Then you remove the seeds and pry the "noodles" apart with two forks. It goes really well with cheese and sauce. If you are watching carbs or calories, one cup is just 31 calories! Or 7g of carbs! It is filling too!

As for sauces, Sarah brought a homemade, nut free basil pesto. I didn't miss the nuts and the sauce was chock full of beautiful flavor. Maybe the difference was she grew the basil herself? It was delish!

We tried Brittany's Victoria sauce from Costco and also Classico Riserva (one brand that came in 3rd from a Chefs' taste testing). We all liked the Victoria sauce. The Classico Riserva had a more zesty/zingy taste and was thicker, whereas the Victoria sauce was more mild and a little thinned with small chunks of tomatoes (which is actually what a good sauce from Italy looks more like). Both were marinaras. According to Italian Chef Rana, in Italy, sauce is a condiment, not something you douse your pasta with, like in America. Pasta is queen and herbs and cheese make the dish king. But we went ahead and ate like Americans that night :D ~Andrea

Apple Pie by Sam Sifton

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 pounds apples, peeled and cored, then cut into wedges (5 large honeycrisps will do it)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 recipe all-purpose pie dough
• 1 egg, lightly beaten.

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large sauté pan set over medium-high heat and add apples to the pan. Stir to coat fruit with butter and cook, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk together the spices, salt and 2/3 cup sugar, and sprinkle this over the pan, stirring to combine. Lower heat and cook until apples have started to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle the flour and cornstarch over the apples and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, another 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, add cider vinegar, stir and scrape fruit mixture into a bowl and allow to cool completely. (The fruit mixture will cool faster if spread out on a rimmed baking sheet.)

2. Place a large baking sheet on the middle rack of oven and preheat to 425. Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator and, using a pin, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is roughly 12 inches in diameter. Fit this crust into a 9-inch pie plate, trimming it to leave a 1/2-inch overhang. Place this plate, with the dough, in the freezer.

3. Roll out the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface until it is roughly 10 or 11 inches in diameter.

4. Remove pie crust from freezer and put the cooled pie filling into it. Cover with remaining dough. Press the edges together, trim the excess, then crimp the edges with the tines of a fork. Using a sharp knife, cut three or four steam vents in the top of the crust. Lightly brush the top of the pie with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of sugar.

5. Place pie in oven and bake on hot baking sheet for 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375. Continue to cook until the interior is bubbling and the crust is golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes more. Remove and allow to cool on a windowsill or kitchen rack, about two hours.

Jazzed-Up Store-Bought Pie Crust

Any crisp, lightly sweetened, relatively neutral-tasting cookies will work here. I particularly like animal crackers and thin wafer cookies. Feel free to add a bit of spice according to what kind of pie you’re making to bump up the flavor even more. Brushing a bit of melted butter on the rolled crusts can give a nice richness if that’s what you’re after.

Makes 1 double-crust pie

• 1 cup crisp, lightly sweetened cookies (see note)
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional–see note)
• 1 15-ounce box refrigerated pie crust (2 single crusts), softened according to package directions
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted (optional–see note)

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the cookies and the sugar and cinnamon, if using. Process until very finely ground. Dust a work surface generously with the cookie dust. Carefully unroll one of the pie crusts onto the work surface and sprinkle with more cookie dust. Use a rolling pin to roll the crust slightly thinner and press some of the cookie dust into the dough.

Fit the pie crust into the desired pan. For a slightly richer tasting crust, brush lightly with melted butter. Refrigerate until firm before filling the crust as desired.

Repeat the dusting and rolling process with the second crust, and drape it over the pie filling. Crimp the top and bottom crusts together. Brush the top crust lightly with melted butter. Chill for 10 minutes before baking according to the pie recipe you’re using.

Top tips from a Professional Baker on fruit pies

Top tips from a Professional Baker on fruit pies

FOOD 52  https://food52.com/blog/17321-a-professional-baker-s-tips-for-baking-pies-smarter-not-harder  

1) Make your own Pie Dough Mix ahead of time up to months in the freezer. Icy ingredients create an extra flaky crust

2) Stock up on the dough itself. Make the dough ahead of time and freeze up to two months.

3) Crimp and store your homemade crusts in disposable tins

4) Rustic Crostata style: no tin, fill a rolled out circle of crust dough and pinch and ruffle edges inward to form a crust.

5) Make streusel ahead of time.

6) Basic fruit Pie formula: 5 cups of fruit to 1/2 C sugar to 1/4 C cornstarch to 1 big pinch of salt. Play with the sugar part especially if your fruit is tart

7) Low Maintenance fruit: Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries. Sturdy fruits like pears and apples can be roasted or sautéed or poached to intensify flavor or change the texture.

8) Chess pie or custard based pie: you can prepare the filling up to five days in advance and store in the fridge. Par bake crust up to one day ahead. When ready to bake, whisk well and pour into crust and bake until center jiggles.

9) Anytime something seems off with the dough, stick it in the fridge and come back in 30 minutes. Let the dough relax and hydrate in the fridge.

10) Sheet pans are just as important as pie tins. Fruit pies on the bottom rack first (to encourage bottom crust to brown) then move to top rack toward the very end to encourage the streusel to crisp.

11) Know what done looks like. Crust color at edge and sides should be golden brown and not at all raw. For fruit pies, look for thick slow bubbles on top. If bubbling over, it’s gone too far. For chess pies, look for slight puff of the custard and a lazy shimmy in the center when shaken. If it’s puffing dramatically, it’s gone too far.

12) Cooling time is critical. Fruit pies need a lot of time to cool, ideally 3-4 hours. Chess pies take a couple of hours. If it’s warm to the touch, don’t cut into it!

Seipert's Zucchini Frittata

* great for breakfast or dinner!

Ingredients:

• 2 small zucchini - shredded
• 1 white onion - diced
• 3 gloved of garlic - minced
• 2 Tbs Olive Oil
• 6 eggs - beaten
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Saute onions & garlic in Olive oil
3. Add the shredded zucchini and saute for 3 min, stirring frequently
4. In another bowl, beat eggs. Then add milk, bread crumbs, and cheese together.
5. Add Zucchini and onions to egg mixture and stir together.
6. Pour into a greased casserole pan. (9x9)
7. Bake for 30 min.
8. Serve hot or cold. Good with crusty french bread and a salad.

Tips:

• You can also add diced ham (1/2 cup) or crumbled bacon for a more hearty meal. 
• Chris will splash some hot sauce on as well.
• Instead of a casserole dish, you can fry your veggies in a cast iron skillet and pour the eggs into that and then place directly into the oven. (Less dishes to clean!)
• You can also pour the mixture into a muffin tin for single serve portions. Just decrease the cooking time by 5-10 min.

Seipert's Grilled Zucchini

This is kind of our go to veggie in the summer when we are grilling. Super simple and delish.

Grilled Zucchini

Ingredients

• Zucchini
• Cooking Spray or Olive Oil
• Your favorite Seasoned Salt
• Shredded (Grated) Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. Slice zucchini lengthwise if using small Zucchs, or into discs if using that big fatty that you forgot to pick earlier!
2. Spray each side with cooking spray or toss in some olive oil to coat.
3. Sprinkle with your favorite seasoned salt. (Lawry's for example)
4. Place zucchini on the top rack of the grill. (med heat)
5. Grill for 3 minutes.
6. Flip zucchini and grill an additional 3 minutes.
7. Remove from the grill, and serve.
8. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top for added goodness.

*Tip- if you want those pretty grill marks, don't mess with the zucchini and only flip once. 

Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 6 minute(s)

Braised Short Ribs:

Ingredients:
4 pounds beef short ribs (or the canned beef in gravy from Costco - 2)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths (or one can of tomatoes with the juice)
1 cup red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon (or cooking red wine)
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or just ground mustard)
2 cups low-sodium beef broth (if you use the canned beef in the gravy, no need for the beef broth)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:
Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or ovenproof stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the ribs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine and mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the ribs to the pan. Add the beef broth, cover the pan and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls easily from the bone.

Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a ladle, transfer the cooking liquid in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into small pieces. Stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

*I have used short ribs before, but for times sake, I use the canned beef in gravy from Costco.
*I used canned tomatoes instead of fresh
*I use cooking red wine
*If you use the canned beef, you don’t need to actually braise it and no need to take out the beef, I just add everything together and then cook for about an hour, just so the beef can soak up the liquid.

Email me for questions: britneyericksen@gmail.com
 

Italian Polenta

Ingredients:
2 Tab olive oil
3/4 Cup red onion (most times I use a white onion)
2 cloves garlic
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup polenta
3 Tab butter
1 1/2 tea salt (I use the coarse salt)
1/4 tea pepper
2 oz. parmesan cheese
Parsley

Directions:
*Pre-heat oven to 350
*On high heat, place a big skillet on the stove, add olive oil
*Add onions and salt
*Reduce heat and add garlic – sauté
*Turn heat back on high – add broth until boiling
*Gradually ad the polenta and stir

*Place into oven with a lid on
*Every 10 minutes, stir polenta
*Keep stirring every 10 minutes for 40 minutes
*After 40 minutes, take out and add butter, pepper, parmesan cheese and parsley

Side notes:
*Most of the ingredients I add to taste. For instance, I add more garlic and butter and cheese...
*Also, after the polenta has cooked for 40 minutes, it may still be runny. Let sit for a while before serving and it should set up to a more dense consistency.

 

Treasure Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup uncooked quick rolled oats
• 1 cup corn flakes
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cream together shortening and sugars.
2. Beat in eggs, peanut butter, and vanilla.
3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda - mix thoroughly.
4. Stir in remaining ingredients.
5. Drop by rounded spoonfuls on un-greased baking sheet.
6. Bake at 375 F for about 10 min.
7. Do not over bake!
8. Remove immediately from baking sheet.

No Bakes

In a medium bowl, combine:

• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups Quick Oats Oatmeal

(It doesn't have to be mixed together. It will blend better with the other ingredients. Just have it to the side ready to go.)

Bring to boil over medium heat the following:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter

Stir constantly. Allow to boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat. Combine all ingredients. Stir until it's well mixed. Quickly scoop out onto foil or waxed paper to allow to cool.

Chocolate Snowball Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup shortening
• 4 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup cocoa
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 2/3 cup milk
• 3 1/3 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 4 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cream shortening and sugar then add all other ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Put in fridge for two hours or overnight.
2. Roll into balls and then roll into powdered sugar.
3. Bake at 350 F for 8-10 minutes.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1 2/3 cups (10 oz) cinnamon chips
3/4 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 350F
2. Beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla: beat well. Combine flour and baking soda. Add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in oats, cinnamon, and raisins (batter will be stiff)
3. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute: remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Yield 4 dozen
Variation: try with golden raisins and toasted pecans

Russian Tea Cakes

Submitted by Jocelle Burdett

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter softened
12 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups almonds (finely chopped)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Mix butter, sugar and vanilla. Add flour, salt and nuts to the other ingredients until dough forms. Shape dough into 1" balls and place approx 1" apart on an un-greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are set and just starting to brown.
When cookies come out of oven, roll in sifted powdered sugar. After cookies are completely cool, roll in sugar again.

Jocelle's tips: Always put these cookies on top rack of oven. Then tend to burn on the bottom.

Caramel/Chocolate Fondue

• 8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used Nestle Ch. Chips and some random melting chocolate mixed together- you can use any kind and it's all good)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz can)
• 1 jar caramel topping (12 oz jar)

Directions:

Melt the chocolate in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat, stir in constantly. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping; heat through. Transfer to a fondue pot and keep warm over a fondue burner. (for best results, use water in the fondue pot, put your ceramic fondue bowl on top of that, and pour the chocolate into the ceramic bowl so the water is what's keeping the chocolate warm.) The great thing about this fondue, though, is that it stays liquid even if you just transfer it to a table bowl because of the caramel in it... so if you don't have a fondue pot, you can still make it!

*submitted by Ela

Cheddar Fondue

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (plus extra to coat cheese)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• Bread cubes, ham cubes, bite-size sausage and/or broccoli florets

Directions:
Mix shredded cheese and flour until well coated. In a saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour, salt if desired, pepper, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened. Reduce heat. Add the cheese; cook and stir until melted. Transfer to a fondue pot or slow cooker; keep warm. Serve with bread, ham, sausage and/or broccoli.

Classic Cheese Fondue

• 1/2 lb Emnenthaler Cheese (shredded) – toss in flour
• 1/2 lb Gruyeye (shredded) – toss in flour
• 1 clove Garlic
• 2 cups Dry White Wine
• 1 tbs Lemon Juice
• 2 tbs Flour
• 3 tbs Kirsch
• 1/4 tsp White Pepper
• Nutmeg and/or Paprika to taste

Directions:
• Rub the inside of the fondue pot with the garlic clove - add clove to pot or disgard
• Heat up the White Wine & Lemon Juice - should be hot but do not boil
• Reduce heat to low and slowly add cheese while stirring
• Slowly add remainder of ingredients while stirring
• If fondue is too loose add more cheese
• If fondue is too stiff add more wine

Sara’s Must-Know Fondue Tips

* Because we like our cheese stinky!

Must Know Fondue Tips covers all the fondue bases. From how much food to prepare, to fondue etiquette, to choosing the right fondue wine, cheeses, and fondue pot, it's all here.

8 Tips for a Successful Fondue Party

Fondue Tip #1:
Figure just how much food you'll need.
• One person can eat about 20 one-inch cubes of bread (1/2 to 1/3 of a loaf of French bread), 8 ounces of meat, 6 ounces of fish or seafood, 4 to 6 ounces of cheese, 6-8 ounces of vegetables, before trimming, 6-8 ounces of fruit, before trimming, 2-4 ounces of dried fruit, 4 cookies, 2 to 3 ounces of dessert sauce. Figure a total of 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of food per person.

Fondue Tip #2
Serve bite-size food. All fondue food should be served in one or two bite pieces to allow for easy skewing or hand-dipping. Strawberries, large marshmallows, small cookies, medium shrimp, large scallops, etc., are perfect as they are. Thick bread and cake should be cut into 1-inch cubes. Cut meats into 1/2 to 1-inch cubes.

Fondue Tip #3
Use the right fondue pot. Ceramic fondue pots for cheese, chocolate, or other dessert fondues. Metal fondue pots for broth, oil, wine or beer fondue recipes in which the food is cooked in the pot. Combination pots are the most practical and are usually very elegant.

Fondue Tip #4
Use the right liquids. Flavorful liquids only, such as broth, beer or wine. Never water. When adding wine to a cheese fondue recipe, use a dry or semi-dry wine. This helps the proteins in the cheese melt more smoothly.

Fondue Tip #5
Cook your fondue recipe on the stove; serve in the fondue pot. Easy fondue recipes are even easier when you prepare your recipe in the kitchen and transfer it to a fondue pot when ready
.
Fondue Tip #6
Never let your fondue recipe boil in the pot. Keep cheese and dessert fondues at a low temperature, just enough to keep them warm, about 120 degrees. Use a very low flame or tea light candle to warm the pot. Oil for frying should be kept at about 375 degrees. At that temperature, a cube of bread will brown evenly in about 20 or 30 seconds.

Fondue Tip #7
Observe fondue etiquette. Remember you are dipping and swirling from a communal pot; try not to touch your lips or tongue to a fork that goes back into the pot. When cooking in the pot, skewer meats onto your fondue fork in such a way that the tines protrude slightly. That way, the meat will not stick to the bottom of the fondue pot. Important: Remove the cooked meat from the fondue fork before eating. The fork will be much too hot! Long throw-away bamboo skewers are an alternative, and you can cook more than one piece of meat or seafood on them, too.
• Serve raw meats on a small, separate plate for each of your guests. Provide another plate for eating, and individual dishes of seasoning for the meat, to be applied before cooking. Compartmentalized fondue plates are very handy here, and they can double as appetizer plates.
Note: For practicality and safety, reserve hot oil and broth type recipes for sit-down style dinner parties, to reduce the risk of an accident. Modern fondue pots are very sturdy, but, nevertheless, mingling guests or curious children might upset an unattended pot.

Fondue Tip #8
Mix cheeses of the same family. Creating your own cheese fondue recipe? Great. But some experts say only one family to a pot! Here are some examples of cheese families, in case you're not a rule-breaker.

Cheese Families:
• Cheddar, Colby, Longhorn, Monterey Jack
• Emmentaler, Gruyere (Swiss cheeses)
• Edam, Gouda
• Provolone, Mozzarella, Scamorze
• Blue Cheese, Roquefort
• Parmesan, Romano
• Cream, Neufchatel, Cottage, Ricotta
• Camembert, Brie, Brick, Muenster, Bel Paese, Port du Salut, Limburger

Fondue Tip #9 ( From Darlene M.)if you add a teaspoon of vinegar it will add a
zing to the mixture.

COOKING TIPS
1. If your fondue is too thin, turn up the heat and add a little cornstarch dissolved in wine or kirsch, and stir.
2. If your fondue becomes too thick, turn up the heat, add a little white wine and stir like crazy!
3. If your fondue starts to curdle, put the pot back on the stove and add a teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in a little white wine, and a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice. Mix it all in thoroughly and bring to the boil briefly while praying fervently.
4. Don’t drink water with your fondue. - The cheese will congeal into an enormous ball in your stomach; you won't be able to sleep, go to the toilet, or dream of ever eating another fondue as long as you live. ;P You’re supposed to drink wine, but um, we can’t, so try something acidic like a soda or something else.

Pasta Primavera

Ingredients:
(enough veggies to cover bottom of 2 baking sheets)

• 4 carrots cut into small sticks
• 1 each, zucchini, yellow squash, grey squash, cut into sticks
• 1 onion cut into half moon
• olive oil to coat the veggies
• spices (dill & Italian Seasoning)
• 1 16oz pkg of penne pasta ( or shape you like)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Toss veggies in olive oil and spices on baking sheets.
3. Bake for 35-45 min depending on desired firmness of vegetables.
4. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
5. Toss veggies with cooked pasta and add extra olive oil if desired.

* You can use any vegetable that bakes well in the oven for this recipe.

Green Chicken & Bean Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 large can Green Enchilada Sauce - (Las Palmas brand is good)
• 3-4 cups chicken broth
• 1-2 lbs chicken breasts
• 1lb great white northern beans, dried
• 1 cup diced onion (1 medium onion)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Rinse and sort white beans and put into pressure cooker with water. Cover and cook in pressure cooker for about 45 minutes, or until beans are soft and tender. Drain and let cool while you cook the chicken and broth.
Empty the pressure cooker and saute diced onions at the bottom of the pot. Add the enchilada sauce, broth, and chicken breasts to the pot then cover and cook for about 30 min or until you can shred the chicken with a fork.
Shred chicken and return to pot. Place half of the beans into the food processor with some of the chicken broth and puree. Add bean puree and the remaining beans into the pot. Stir in spices and let simmer, uncovered, for about 15-20 minutes to let the flavors mix.

Dumpling Soup

Soup
-Water...about 1/2 of a large pot. Boil a few breasts of chicken-however much you want.
-Add one bullion cube (chicken flavor) per cup of water used.
-When the chicken's done, take it out and cut it up into small pieces.
-Then add to the pot of water:
-a couple cans of cream of chicken soup (or 1 large can)
-minced onions (just eye-ball it)
-shredded carrots (the more the better! I usually do about 4-6 large carrots)
-frozen peas (again, be generous)... you want enough to have a bunch of peas w/ each scoop of soup!
-Bring to a boil and drop in dumplings!

Dumplings
3 1/2 Cups flour (Half white and half wheat tastes the best!)
1 tsp salt
5 med. or lg. eggs
2 Tbsp oil (olive oil or vegetable is fine)
-Just combine all ingredients and mix together. Knead it for a couple minutes (it's a pretty stiff dough but really forgiving). If you need to get it more pliable or if it's dry, then add a tiny bit of water at a time till its a good consistency.

*** Once the soup is ready for the dumplings, just take your dough and pinch off little pieces (about 1 inch in diameter) and throw them into the pot of boiling soup as you go. Pinch and throw, pinch and throw. By the time you get done with the dough, the dumplings will have mostly all risen to the top of the soup. I let it boil a few more minutes before serving. Don't roll them into a ball or anything else. They cook the best when you just pinch it off, squeeze, and throw! (I added a step...) It's great with fresh ground pepper to taste and some good bread on the side!

*Submitted by Ela Wunderli