• Mrs. Worthy's Coffeecake, a delightfully light and airy coffeecake with just the right amount of cinnamon streusel topping, somehow better than your mom made.Generous slices available in the Safari Room at the Towers or at both The Palm Court or espresso bar at the historic Davenport Hotel - 111 South Post Street. What a way to wake up in the morning!  More information on the Davenport Hotel at www.davenporthotel.com
• Wild Sage American Bistro, 916 West Second Avenue, just a few blocks from the Davenport Hotel, where the Proscuitto-wrapped Asparagus Salad with Grilled Fingerling Potatoes and Pea Shoots is a comforting conundrum and the Pork Tenderloin with Wild Mushrooms and Marsala Cream soothes your soul. Check out their menu at www.wildsagebistro.com

Summertime Steak and Brie Bites

Check out my recipes and

food photography in the Winter 2009 issue of

Flathead Living magazine.

White Chocolate Mousse with Minted Berries

http://www.flatheadliving.com/recipes.html

Maple Butter Salmon

http://www.flatheadliving.com/recipes.html?id=12

Brandied Cherry Brie Bites

http://www.flatheadliving.com/recipes.html?id=11

Happy Cooking! 

Sydne

Welcome winter with Beef Bourguignon Pies with Parmesan Poppyseed Pastry.  Slowly simmering the beef in Burgundy wine the night before will render the meat tender and delicious, leaving you with little more to do than putting together the pastry (easier than you think) and popping the pies in the oven at the last minute. A foolproof people-pleasing dinner party entrée recipe to add to your favorites…enjoy!

Beef Bourguignon Pies with Parmesan Poppyseed Pastry

(serves 8)

Ingredients:

¼ cup butter

2 cloves garlic

2 cups button mushrooms

1-14-ounce bag frozen Petite Whole Onions, thawed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 pound chuck roast, cut in 1-inch cubes

1 cup flour

½ cup oil

½ cup brandy

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 cups Burgundy wine

2 cups beef stock

1 tablespoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons oregano

5 bay leaves

2 cups flour

½ cup oil

½ cup cold water

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup sour cream

1 tablespoon poppyseeds

¼ teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.             Preheat oven to 350 degrees.            

2.             Heat butter in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and onions and cook until lightly browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

3.             Dredge beef in flour.

4.             Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat and sear beef, in batches, avoiding overcrowding in the pan. Remove beef from pan and set aside.

5.             Remove pan from heat briefly and deglaze pan with brandy, stirring to scrape up any browned bits.

6.             Return pan to heat and add tomato paste, wine, stock, thyme, oregano and bay leaves, stirring to combine.                                                               

7.             Put beef back in pan with sauce. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 1 ½ hours.

8.             Add mushrooms and onions and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

                (At this point, Beef Bourguignon can be refrigerated until you are ready to assemble the individual pies.)

For Parmesan Poppyseed Pastry:

1.             Combine flour, oil, water, Parmesan cheese, sour cream, poppy seeds and salt in a small bowl. Stir until combined and gather up in a ball.

2.             Roll out dough between two sheets of waxed paper to a thickness of ¼ inch.

3.             Using a pizza cutter, cut pastry into 4 inch squares. Cut slits in each pastry square for steam to escape during baking.

To assemble:

1.             Preheat oven to 425 degrees.            

2.             Remove Beef Bourguignon from refrigerator and ladle into small (3 1/2 -inch diameter) ramekin dishes.

3.             Brush the edges of each ramekin with water and drape a pastry square atop each filled ramekin.

4.             Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until pastry is browned and filling is bubbly.

5.             Garnish with fresh bay leaves.

                                                                                                Bon Appetit!

Knock-Your-Socks-Off Sweet and Spicy Brie Bites

 ....................................................................................

Greetings!

I am currently competing in the Ile de France Cheese Recipe Contest.

Online voting and rating will determine the winner.

If you feel so inclined, please visit: http://iledefrancecheese.com/blog
and vote accordingly.

My recipe is "Knock-Your-Socks-Off Sweet and Spicy Brie Bites".

To vote, click on the recipe of your choice, scroll over the stars and click.

Thank you.

Happy Cooking!

Sydne

Chicken Saltimbocca Lasagna

  With fall in high gear and winter just around the corner,

what you might enjoy is an updated lasagna recipe to wow your family and friends.

Why not try this twist on an Italian classic chicken dish layered into a do-ahead lasagna sure to please everyone at the table?

Chicken Saltimbocca Lasagna

(serves 12)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds ground chicken (or sliced cooked chicken breast)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups Portobello mushrooms, chopped

2 teaspoons thyme

2 teaspoons oregano

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup white wine

24-ounce jar Vodka sauce (pasta aisle)

2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, grated

½ pound prosciutto, thinly sliced and sliced into strips

1 9-ounce package no-cook lasagna noodle sheets

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Freshly snipped thyme

Directions:

1.             Preheat oven to 375 degrees.            

2.             Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add chicken and brown until fully cooked.

3.             Add garlic and mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are lightly browned.

4.             Add thyme, oregano, salt, white wine and Vodka sauce. Simmer until reduced slightly, about 15 minutes.

5.             Brush a 15 x 9 inch lasagna pan with olive oil.

6.             Into the pan, layer:

                                1 cup sauce

                                4 sheets no-cook lasagna noodles

                                grated cheese

                                Prosciutto strips

7.             Continue layering until you have used all ingredients, ending with cheese and prosciutto strips.

                At this point, you may refrigerate lasagna until ready to bake, if desired.

8.             Pour cream over and bake for about 40 minutes or until lightly browned.

9.             Remove from oven and let set up for 10-15 minutes.

10.           Slice in squares and garnish with freshly snipped thyme.

Enjoy!

Lemongrass and Crab Soup

with Parmesan Croutons

and

Dilled Breadsticks

            Bid summer goodbye with a special soup and bread menu bound to please everyone.

Whether it’s a Back-to-School luncheon, a pregame light supper, or a dinner party first course,

this luscious lemongrass and crab soup with parmesan croutons and dilled breadsticks will usher in autumn with panache.  

Lemongrass and Crab Soup

 (serves 4, can be doubled)

Ingredients:

            3 tablespoons butter

            3 tablespoons flour

            3 cups chicken stock

            2 teaspoons lemongrass paste (in a tube in the produce department)

            1 pound lump crabmeat

            1 tablespoon sherry

            Directions:

1.         Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

2.         Add flour and whisk together.

3.         Whisk in lemongrass.

4.         Add chicken stock and reduce heat to medium low. Do not boil.

5.         Add crabmeat and cook until heated through, about 10 minutes.

6.         Stir in sherry.

7.         Serve warm with parmesan croutons. Garnish with crème fraiche and lemon peel, if desired.

Parmesan Croutons

(for four)

Ingredients:

            1 cup shredded fresh parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.         Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.         Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

3.         Sprinkle parmesan in small rounds around parchment, leaving space between croutons.

4.         Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges are lightly brown and cheese has melted and is bubbly.

5.         Let cool.

6.         Remove from parchment with spatula and use as a garnish for lemongrass and crab soup.

Dilled Breadsticks

(makes about 12 10-inch breadsticks)

Ingredients:

            2 to 2 ½ cups flour

            1 package yeast

            ¼ cup warm water + ½ cup warm water

            2 tablespoons sugar

            1 teaspoon dill weed

            1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1.         Put ¼ cup warm water in a small bowl.

2.         Add sugar and yeast.

3.         Stir to combine and let proof.

4.         In a medium bowl, combine 2 cups flour, ½ cup warm water, dill weed and olive oil. Add yeast when it has “grown” and is bubbly.

5.         Mix together until dough forms a ball.

6.         Remove from bowl and work in additional flour on countertop.

7.         Shape in ball and place in greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap.

8.         Set in a sunny windowsill until dough has risen to double in size.

9.         Punch down and let rest.

10,       Shape dough into 10-inch long breadsticks.

11.       Place on greased baking sheet and let rise until double in size.

12.       Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until breadsticks are golden brown.

Enjoy!

Dinner on the Deck Menu

Shrimp Skewers with Plum Sauce 

and  

Teriyaki Scallop Kabobs 

atop

Coconut Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Macadamia Nuts

         Impress your guests with this healthy and delicious Asian barbeque menu. While the sweet potatoes require peeling and sautéing, the shrimp and scallops just need to marinate for a bit before being grilled.

Shrimp Skewers (Soak wooden skewers in water before threading shrimp.)

Makes 12 skewers

1. Peel two pounds jumbo shrimp and place in a glass container.
2. Combine ½ cup pineapple juice, ¼ cup plum sauce (available in the Asian foods aisle) and 1 teaspoon ground ginger. Pour over shrimp, cover, and let marinate until ready to grill. Reserve additional plum sauce for basting and presentation.
3. Chop fresh chives or clip with kitchen shears.
4. Thread five shrimp onto each wooden skewer.
5. Place skewers in a grill basket to prevent shrimp from falling through grill.
6. Grill over medium heat on the barbeque, turning skewers to cook both sides, until shrimp are opaque and pink. 

Teriyaki Scallop Kabobs

(Shopping tip: I found bacon-wrapped scallops in the Frozen Seafood aisle. It was so easy to take them off the wooden picks and transfer them to wooden skewers to marinate. Make sure to soak wooden skewers before beginning to avoid burning on the grill.)

Two packages of 30 bacon-wrapped shrimp will make 12 kabobs.

1. Thread 5 scallops onto each wooden skewer.

2. Whisk together  ½ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup dry sherry, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 2 cloves minced garlic and 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled ginger root in a small bowl.
3. Pour over scallop skewers in a large shallow glass baking dish. Cover and refrigerate until ready to grill.
4. Place scallop kabobs in a grill basket.
5. Grill over medium heat on the barbeque, turning kabobs to cook both sides, until scallops are opaque and bacon is cooked.

  Roasted Sweet Potatoes:

1. Peel four long skinny sweet potatoes and slice into ¼ inch slices.
2. Melt I tablespoon butter in large sauté pan over medium heat and sauté sweet potato slices until golden brown.
3. Remove from pan into glass pie plate or baking dish until ready to broil.
4. Just before serving, drizzle ¼ cup Cream of Coconut (in the beverage mixer aisle in the grocery store) over sweet potatoes and sprinkle ½ cup chopped macadamia nuts over the top.
5. Broil about two minutes, removing when nuts are toasted. Serve immediately.

To Plate:

Arrange roasted sweet potatoes attractively in center of plate. Line up a shrimp skewer and a scallop kabob on top of sweet potatoes. Drizzle plum sauce over shrimp skewer and sprinkle toasted sesame seeds (found in the Asian foods aisle) over the top. Sprinkle chopped fresh chives over the scallop kabob and arrange chive blossoms, if available, for garnish.

An Easy Breezy Summer Winner

for Breakfast, Lunch or Even Dinner

Zucchini Basil Frittata

Raid the garden and throw together this flavorful and versatile frittata any time of the day. Serve with a mixed fruit cup for breakfast, add a tossed baby green salad and call it lunch, or top the wedges of frittata with a chunky fresh primavera sauce and you’ve got dinner. Any way you slice it, this frittata is an easy breezy summer winner.

Zucchini Basil Frittata

(serves 6)

Ingredients:

            2 tablespoons olive oil

            2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds

            5 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

            6 large fresh basil leaves

            ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

            6 eggs, beaten

            Chive blossoms, for garnish, if desired

            Directions:

1.         Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.         In a medium flat-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil and sauté zucchini until lightly browned.

            Do not overcook or zucchini will get soggy.

3.         Sprinkle bacon over sautéed zucchini.

4.         Arrange basil leaves on top of the bacon.

5.         Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over the basil.

6.         Pour beaten eggs over basil.

7.         Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking until eggs are set.

8.         Finish in 350 degree oven until top is cooked, about 2-3 minutes.

9.         Remove from oven. Run a table knife around edges and invert onto cutting board.

10.       Slice in wedges and garnish with chive blossoms, if desired.

            Having friends over and it’s too hot to cook? Maybe it’s time to ditch the kitchen and fire up the grill. Dressing up a burger for company is as easy as purchasing southwestern salsa, stirring together garlic chili mayonnaise and doctoring up crescent roll dough with green chilies and cornmeal. Keep this recipe handy, you may be reaching for it again and again this summer.