Hot Apple Cobbler

I love apple cobbler and I love dump cakes.  Combine the two and you get this recipe for Hot Apple Cobbler thanks to Wanda of www.thehappycooker.com.  The only tricky part about dump cakes is making sure the dry cake mix gets enough moisture so it turns into a delicious topping.  I normally use a fork halfway through the cooking process to press all the cake mix down.  I especially had to do it for this recipe because the cake layer is thicker than normal because of the cooking vessel.

Hot Apple Cobber

1 (18.25 oz) box yellow cake mix

2 (21 oz) cans of apple pie filling

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, un-drained

1 (5 oz) can evaporated milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup natural sliced almonds

Heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly butter a 3-quart dutch oven.  (I used the dutch oven I use for everything and I think it is more than 3 quarts).

Spread pie filling and crushed pineapple over bottom of pan.  Evenly spread DRY cake mix over fruit.  Pour evaporated milk over top, covering all of the cake mix.  Drizzle melted butter evenly over this.  Sprinkle almonds over top and bake 45 minutes or until golden brown.

September 18, 2011

We met at Janet's home for a very special gathering and a theme of Chinese food.  All were in attendance except for Lauren and we had the addition of Teresa, who recently moved to Florida!  It was a lovely afternoon with delicious food!

Appetizer:  Angie, Wonton soup

Salad:  Carol, Chinese Salad

Side:  Tonya, Stir Fried Vegetables

Main: Janet, Oriental Chicken with Orange Ginger Wine Sauce

Dessert:  Mary, Chinese Root Cake

Wine:  Teresa

Janet set a beautiful table with souvenirs from her recent trips to China.  In the center was a beautiful array of flowers featuring red and orange roses.

We started our meal with wonton soup.  I intended to make it from scratch but alas, unexpected weekend plans got in the way so I purchased the soup at a local Chinese place.  I am happy to report this sin has not resulted in my being expelled from the Gourmet Gals.  Yippee!

Carol made one of my favorite salads, Chinese salad.   The crunchy noodles and almonds are delicious with the fresh cabbage and light, sweet dressing.  This salad should be mixed at the last minute so the noodles stay crisp.  For this reason, it is not as tasty the next day because the noodles get soggy.  Carol sliced the cabbage into ribbons which made for a very nice presentation.

 

Tonya quickly put together these stir fried vegetables in a dutch oven.  The colors were gorgeous and the flavor very tasty.  The recipe is from my Dorothy Huang's Chinese Cooking cookbook.  

Stir Fried Vegetables

serves 2

1 onion

4 oz fresh mushrooms

4 oz fresh snow peas

red bell pepper (added by Tonya and great for presentation)

3 tbs oil

1/4 tsp salt

Thickening Sauce

1 tsp corn starch

1/2 tsp sugar

2 tbs chicken broth

1 tbs oyster sauce

1/4 tsp sesame oil

Cut onion into 8 wedges and separate into layers.   Cut mushrooms into half inch slices.  Remove tips and strings from snow peas.  Cut bell pepper into strips.  Combine ingredients for thickening sauce.

Heat 3 tbs of oil in pan over high heat.  Add vegetables and salt and stir fry 2 to 3 minutes.  Add thickening sauce and stir, until sauce is thick.

For our main entree, Janet picked Oriental Chicken with Orange Ginger Wine Sauce.  It was so good!  The chicken was marinated then coated in cornstarch and deep fried.  It is then mixed with the sweet sauce.  We discussed that while not as tasty, it would be easier to pan fry the chicken.  This would also reduce the fat content.

Oriental Chicken with Orange Ginger Wine Sauce

by Lin Gee Way Bessey, guest chef, Central Market Cooking School   1/1/2006

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Servings:

 

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Ingredients

2 pounds chicken breast cut into 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 inch cubes

1 tablespoon garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon ginger root, chopped

1/4 cup PLUS 1/3 cup soy sauce, divided

1/4 cup PLUS 1/3 cup cooking wine, divided

1 cup PLUS 1 tablespoon cornstarch, divided

6 cups peanut oil

1 can mandarin orange slices with syrup

1 cup fresh kiwi cut into big pieces

orange slices for garnish

1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon fresh orange peel, grated

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon fresh ginger root, grated

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Cooking Instructions

Mix the chicken, garlic, 1 tablespoon chopped ginger root, 1/4 cup soy sauce and 1/4 cup cooking wine together and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes. Dry chicken and coat with cornstarch. Heat the peanut oil, and deep fry the chicken pieces until they turn light brown. Mix all sauce ingredients (orange juice, orange peel, 1/3 cup soy sauce, sugar, 1/3 cup cooking wine, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root, 1 tablespoon cornstarch) and bring to a boil. During this time, add the cooked chicken with the mandarin oranges and kiwi pieces. Mix in the warm sauce. Garnish plate with orange slices and serve.

 

For dessert, Mary prepared a lightly sweet cassava cake with a curd-like topping.  It is awesome that she was able to stick with the theme of Chinese!  Not an easy feat!  The cake was the perfect compliment to the sweet, rich chicken dish.

Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Carol made this cake for a church function and says it is DELICIOUS!  Sounds great for fall! 

RDG

For the final night of Houston Restaurant Weeks, we dined at RDG Bar Annie.  There is a sitting room and private dining rooms downstairs and the bar and restaurant are upstairs.  When we arrived the happy hour was hopping in the bar that also includes an outdoor patio. 

Our first table was just off the bar and the noise was so loud that we could not hear over the boisterous crowd!  We asked the hostess for a new location and she gladly complied.  Our final table was in view of the kitchen where we could see the calm Robert Del Grande walking amongst his chefs, who also seemed very calm.  Their demeanor went well with the soothing atmosphere of the wood paneled dining room.

RDG offered a 4-course dinner deal with two starters, a main course and dessert.  Appetizers included polenta, trout with egg salad, and pear and endive salad with a spicy dressing.  Entrees ordered were the strip steak with hominy and salmon with ginger slaw.  For desert the choice was unanimous of cheesecake covered in caramel.  All entrees were delicious and several had lots of heat!

Scallops with Wilted Spinach, Grapefuit and Mint

Janet found the perfect summer supper and wanted to share it.  Scallops with Wilted Spinach, Grapefruit and Mint is delicious and quick to prepare.  A short cut is to use grapefruit sections from the produce department.  

Though this may seem like an odd combination of flavors, all come together beautifully and even a finicky husband will enjoy!

Brennan's of Houston

Another week in August, another week celebrating Houston Restaurant Weeks.  This week it was Brennan's of Houston and the food and atmosphere were both amazing! 

After being seated at our table featuring high backed chairs we ordered our three course meals.  Appetizers included shrimp and grits, the famous turtle soup and a salad featuring peaches and a sunflower seed brittle.  The shrimp and grits were my favorite even though I ordered the turtle soup!  The soup was thick and made from a brown roux and it was finished with a drizzle of sherry.  The salad was delicious and my second favorite appetizer.  I HAD to order the famous soup, which I did enjoy and finish, and fortunately my table mates were happy to share a taste of their dishes.

Entrees ordered were the filet of beef with delicious mashed potatoes over a bacon tomato jam and shrimp creole.  The steak was very tender and the bacon tomato jam gave the potatoes a bacon flavor that was very nice.  The shrimp creole featured large, fresh, perfectly cooked shrimp and a mild sauce that were served table side over a bed of rice.

All three of the dessert choices were ordered and these were strawberry shortcake, bread pudding and bananas foster.  All were delicious!  The strawberry shortcake had a strawberry puree with a biscuit covered in berries, fresh cream and another biscuit.  The bread pudding was accompanied by pecans and a whiskey sauce and was sinfully delicious.  Prepared table side, the bananas foster was served with a rum sauce, home made ice cream and a beautiful white bowl decorated with hearts made from powdered cinnamon.

August 14, 2011

Some of the Gourmet Gals met at Mary's home for our August dinner with a theme of "light and refreshing".

 

Menu:

 

Appetizer - Avocado Salsa and chips, Carol

Bread & Wine - Fabulous Focaccia and Pinot Grigio, Janet

Salad - Mixed Green Salad with Cilantro Dressing, Carol

Side - Ratatouille, Angie

Main Dish - Seafood Linguine, Mary

Dessert - Neapolitan Cheesecake, Carol (a trifecta of cheesecake and entrees from our saint Carol!!)

  

 

 

Janet started off the evening with two light and refreshing Pinot Grigios to compliment the seafood main dish. I preferred the Italo Cescon one, especially its label with the little ribbon and twig (not shown).

 

 The appetizer of Avocado Salsa was a delightful blend of fresh ingredients and the star was not the avocado but the fresh corn.  Carol adapted the recipe by omitting the shrimp and cucumber and adding:

• 1 can of drained and rinsed black beans
• two ears of fresh corn
• red onion rather than green onion
• 4 tablespoons of lime juice rather than 3

 

 

In Lauren's absence, Carol surprised us by doing triple duty and bringing a salad with the most delicious dressing!

Mixed Green Salad with Cilantro Dressing

Texas on the Plate

Terry Thompson Anderson

 

Salad:

 

Mixed greens, including field greens if available ( Carol added 1 head of butter lettuce to the mixed greens)

Very thinly sliced red onions

Cherry tomatoes

Cucumber rounds

 

Cilantro Dressing:

Makes about 2 cups

 

2 cups lightly packed cilantro sprigs, leaves and stems

1 Tbs minced garlic

1 Tbs minced fresh jalapeno , seeds and veins removed

2 Tbs Champagne vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon real maple syrup

1 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice

3/4 teaspoons minced lime zest

1 c mayonnaise

 

Combine all the ingredients in work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade.

 

Process until smooth. Refrigerate, covered for about 4 hours before using to allow time for the flavors to meld.

 

Arrange the mixed greens on individual salad plates and pour desired amount of dressing over the top.

Garnish the salad with slivered red onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumber rounds, and avocado slices (if using).

 

 

 

Janet prepared a wonderful bread, Tyler Florence's Fabulous Focaccia, and I could have eaten the entire pan.  It was very light and a bit crispy.

 

For a side I wanted to prepare vegetables as well as try something different and I found this recipe for Roasted Ratatouille and it fit the bill perfectly!  The preparation of roasting rather than stewing made it quick and simple and the original recipe also features two other recipes that can be made with left over ratatouille.  If I made this again I would add mushrooms too.

 

For the main dish of Seafood Linguine, Mary combined two recipes together:  one from Cooks and another from I Cannot Believe It's Not Butter.  Mainly we followed the I Cannot Believe It's Not Butter Recipe and we included:

•  minced clams
• dry white wine
• freshly squeezed lemon juice
• cornstarch slurry
•  parsley for garnish
• sour cream—tossed with the boiled pasta prior to topping with seafood mixture

 

We ended the meal with a beautiful, as well as delicious, Neapolitan Cheesecake with freshly whipped cream and sliced strawberries.  Carol truly outdid herself, again!  The recipe is below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neapolitan Cheesecake

Yield: 12 servings

Best of Taste of Home - 2011

Crust:

1 cup cream filled chocolate sandwich cookie (Oreos!) crumbs

3 Tbs sugar

3 Tbs butter

Filling:

4 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1 1/3 c sugar

2 Tbs all purpose flour

2 Tbs heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

4 eggs, beaten lightly

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup fresh strawberries, hulled

1 to 2 drops red food coloring, optional

1/4 cup seedless strawberry jam, warmed

Sliced fresh strawberries and sweetened whipped cream

1. Place a greased 9 inch spring form pan on a double thickness of heavy duty foil ( about 18 square).

Securely wrap foil around pan.

2. In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press onto the bottom of pan: set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in flour, cream, and extracts. Add eggs,

beat on low speed just until combined. Divide batter into thirds.

4. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; cool to room temperature. Stir melted chocolate into one portion of batter.  Pour over crust.

In a food processor, puree strawberries. Add pureed strawberries and food coloring if desired, to another portion of better. Gently spread over chocolate layer. Place spring form pan in a large baking pan; add 1 inch

of hot water to larger pan. (water bath)

5. Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Gently spread remaining plain batter over top. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until top appears dull. Remove spring form pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool for 1 hour longer. Refrigerate over night.

6. Remove sides of pan. Drizzle jam over cheesecake ; garnish with strawberries and whipped cream.