Granny Smith Apple, Spice Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1t baking powder
• 1t baking soda
• 1t ground cinnamon
• 1/2t ground cloves
• 1/2t ground ginger
• dash of salt
• 3 whole eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups grated Granny Smith apples
• 4 cups thin sliced Granny Smith apples
• pan spray

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350F and collect all ingredients.
• Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt with a wire whisk in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Combine eggs, sugars, oil and grated apple into a large bowl; mix well.
• Spray 9x13 baking dish or similar with pan spray to keep from sticking.
• Add sliced apples to the bottom of baking dish and layer evenly.
• Combine the flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix well.
• Pour batter over the apples in the baking dish.
• Bake at 350F for approximately one hour.
• Check with a toothpick to see if it is done; allow to cool completely before cutting or frosting.

Comments

• Different apples may be used, but make sure they are good baking apples.
• Cream cheese frosting seems to fit this cake very well.
• This recipe can also be made into cupcakes that makes for a great breakfast muffin.
• This recipe will feed 16 easily
• Enjoy!

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Pickled Ginger Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup pickled ginger, packed, drained
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1t Dijon mustard
• 1/2t sambal chili paste
• salt, pepper, garlic to taste
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable or salad oil

Preparation

• In food processor or with immersion blender, combine vinegar, pickled ginger, honey, mustard, chili paste, salt, pepper and garlic.
• While food processor or blender is running, add oil slowly until combined.
• Taste and fine tune the seasoning as needed.

Notes

• This recipe will make approximately 1 quart of dressing.
• We use this dressing on our grapefruit salad and also for a marinated vegetable salad.
• You can substitute crushed red pepper flakes for the chili paste or omit if need be.

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Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 T Dijon mustard
• 1 T horseradish
• 1/2 t sambal olek (chili paste)
• granulated garlic to taste
• lawry's season salt to taste
• kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation

• Hard boil eggs (this is typically 10 minutes once it starts boiling). Cool in ice water and peel.
• Cut eggs in half; place yolks into a food processor and display whites onto a serving dish.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the food processor with the yolks and puree until very smooth.
• Place yolk filling into a pastry bag with tip of choice and pipe the filling back into the whites.
• Sprinkle with chopped herbs, green onion, smoked paprika or all the above for garnish.
• Makes 12 halves and can be completed in about 20 minutes.

Notes

• Rule of thumb is the older the egg, the easier they are to peel; this is a good reason to stock up a week or two ahead and let them "age."
• There are many variations on deviled eggs; have fun and play around!  Once you get the basics down, try folding in chopped crab meat, fresh pesto, or garnishing with blanched asparagus tips.
• If you do not want the spice, substitute a little lemon juice for the mustard, horseradish and chili paste
• Enjoy with your cookout this summer or save for the holidays - just make plenty.

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Blueberry, Cornmeal Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal (not cornbread mix)
• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 T baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/2 t vinegar
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1 cup blueberries (if frozen then thaw and drain)
• oil or spray for greasing pan to cook pancakes

Preparation

• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together.
• In a separate medium bowl, combine all wet ingredients.
• Combine wet with the dry and mix well with whisk.
• Heat griddle or pan to medium heat.
• Grease griddle or pan with non-stick spray or desired oil.
• Ladle or pour batter onto greased cooking surface to desired size.
• Sprinkle blueberries onto each pancake.
• Flip pancake once the edges begin to dry and batter is bubbling (1 minute).
• Cook until browned on the second side (less than 1 minute).
• Remove pancakes and keep warm.
• Repeat with remaining batter.

Comments

• You may use butter for greasing your pan for cooking, but be careful, as the butter will burn and scorch quicker than vegetable oil so you may find you want to lower heat.
• The batter consistency can be adjusted by adding a little more or less milk to achieve a lighter/thinner or thicker/denser pancake.
• The blueberries may be added to the batter before cooking, but this may cause a need for adjusting the liquid in the batter.
• This recipe will make approximately 24-30, 3" pancakes. I find that it will feed about 10 folks.
• Serve with maple syrup, whipped cream, home-fried potatoes, and Benton's bacon!  We do!
• Have fun experimenting and enjoy!  

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Avocado Celebration

Ingredients

• 7 ripe avocados, peeled and cut into bite size pieces (not too small)
• 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2t fresh chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup red onion, rough chop (about 1/2 onion)
• 1 cup+ fresh chilies, rough chop (mild, medium, hot...you decide)
• 1t ground cumin
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, rough chop
• kosher salt and cracked black pepper

Preparation

• combine all ingredients in a large bowl...easy!

Comments

• Look for black skin avocados that are not mushy, but just gives under a little pressure.
• I like to use a variety of chilies both in color and heat, but you can make it as hot as you like.
• Keep all your pieces of avocado large enough that they do not just turn to mush when mixing; I like a nice chunky dip that you can identify what is in there.  Use a rubber spatula and fold together.
• This is great with tortilla chips as a dip or is a wonderful side or sauce for quesadillas, grilled chicken and shrimp.
• This recipe takes maybe 10-15 minutes to make and creates approximately 6-8 cups depending on the size of the avocados. 
• Art by Melissa Sarat

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