Potato Casserole

This is the potato dish known by many different names (and recipes). Funeral Potatoes, because generally makes an appearance at Mormon funerals. Mom's Potato Casserole because you kids have grown up on it at special occasions. It's quite good with ham, and is guaranteed to raise one's cholesterol exponentially to one's appetite.
Also good microwaved the next day... although there's rarely any left.

Potato Casserole

6 medium russet potatoes, skin on.
2 bunches green onions, sliced thinly with some green
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 lb. cheddar cheese. grated large
1 pint sour cream

Scrub potatoes well and cook in a pressure cooker for about 22 minutes, or according to your cooker's instructions. Let the pressure go down by itself. Remove potatoes carefully to a rack and let cool enough to handle. Peel carefully. (Never throw the peels into the garbage disposal; they're like glue!)

In a 4 quart sauce pan, place soup and half the cheese. Heat slowly and add green onions. Mixture should be hot, with the cheese melting. Add the green onions and stir well. Remove from heat and add sour cream; stir well.
Grate half the potatoes into a 9x13" pan, and pour in half the cheese mixture.
Stir. Grate the other half of potatoes, stir together. Add remaining mixture, stir to combine. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Bake at 350 until bubbling, about 35 minutes.
This can also be made ahead of time. Fix the entire recipe, putting the potatoes in the 9x13". It will keep for a few days. I generally bring the potatoes out of the refrigerator about an hour before baking, so the pan isn't so cold when I put it into the oven. Cover with foil, bake at 350 for about 40 minutes; remove foil and continue baking until bubbly around the edges, about 15 minutes.

Scottish Shortbread

Cleo asked for this recipe... one of her favorites!
I use a clay mold to bake this shortbread, but it can also be baked in an 8" round cake pan.

Scottish Shortbread

1 1/2 cup sifted all purpose flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2# butter, softened to room temperature. (This should be soft enough to leave a fingerprint on the butter, but not soft enough to spread on bread.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Mix dry ingredients together. Cut in butter and mix well. Knead thoroughly until the consistency is doughy. Press firmly into the pan; make certain the dough touches the bottom, and sides. Score the dough into wedges with a sharp knife.
Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until shortbread is lightly browned. It should still be slightly springy to the touch. Let cool in the pan, and then run a knife around the sides to loosen the shortbread. Remove to a rack to cool.
To cut into wedges, use a sharp knife.

Peanut Butter Cookies

This makes approximate 5 dozen very tender cookies.

1 cup butter, cut up into small pieces
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 large eggs

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Beat the butter, sugars and eggs well in a large bowl.
Beat in the peanut butter until incorporated.
Mix the remaining ingredients in another bowl; add them to the butter mixture, beating until just mixed.

Bake in a preheated 350 oven, until lightly baked, about 12 minutes. These are very delicate while hot. Keep them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes until firmer, then move to cookie racks to cool.

Ghiradelli Marbled Cheesecake Bars

This recipe was on the inside of the wrapper of the Ghiradelli 60% Cacoa Bar. Laura made it for us and it was delicious! Very much a cheesecake, with a wonderful crust. And rich! A small piece is plenty. Though expensive, it's a perfect company dessert as it can be made in the morning and kept chilled until served.

Ghiradelli Marbled Cheesecake Bars (325 degree oven)
(yield 16 bars)

Crust:
1 cup flour
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

Combine the flour, pecans, butter and brown sugar; mix well.
Press the mixture onto the bottom of an ungreased 8"or 9" square baking pan.
Bake 15-16 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Batter:
24 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 oz. Ghiradelli 60% Cacoa Bar, melted

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla extract until well blended.
Add the eggs one a at a time, beating well.
Set 1 cup of batter aside.
Combine melted chocolate into the mixing bowl.
Spoon the chocolate batter over the crust.
Pour 1 cup of plain batter over the chocolate batter.
Using the blade of a butter knife, swirl the batter to create a marbled effect.
Bake 30-35 minutes, or until center is set.
Cool on rack to room temperature, then cover and transfer pan to refrigerator. Chill approximately three hours.
Store covered in the refrigerator.

pecans finely chopped

the butter and sugar/flour cut in
carefully press the mixture into the bottom of the pan


mixing the cream cheese batter and adding one egg at a time
such beautiful golden eggs!

pouring in the melted chocolate... scraping every last drop into the batter


no need to cool the crust, just pour in the batter
swirl the white batter into the chocolate; don't over do it, as you'll lose the effect



ready for the oven

voila!

Tomato and Feta Cheese

These would make a great hors d'oeuvres served warm. I just like to eat them as a snack or lunch or whenever.

Wash large cherry tomatoes, or whatever size can easily be eaten as finger food.
Core and hollow the inside a bit of each tomato. Fill this with crumbled feta cheese. I've also stuffed basil chiffonade into the core, also and then filled with cheese. Place on a cookie sheet on the second highest rack in the oven.

Broil, keeping an eye on the cheese. It should melt a bit, and become golden. This will warm the tomato, but not really cook it.


Share with friends and eat immediately.

Kathy Kane's Corn & Avocado Salad

This recipe was published in the July 2009 issue of Sunset Magazine. A perfect salad on a hot summer day.

Fresh Corn and Avocado Salad (serves 10)

6 ears of corn
2 cups of halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 large avocado, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp. Champagne vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. each kosher salt and ground black pepper

In a large pot of boiling water, cook corn for three to five minutes until warmed through. Rince with cold water until cool.
Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, onion, avocado and basil in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients to make the vinaigrette, whisking until blended.
Cut kernels off cobs and add to salad, then pour in vinaigrette and toss gently to combine.

Plum Berry Upside-Down Cake

This recipe is taken from David Lebovitz's book Room for Dessert. Elizabeth made it last summer and we thought it delicious. Lebovitz calls for huckleberries, but we substituted blackberries. Any berries but strawberries may be used.

Plum Berry Upside-Down Cake (1 9"round cake or 1 10"square cake)
Preheat oven to 350 deg. with rack in the middle.
The dessert is best served warm.

Topping:
3 Tbls. butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup berries (blueberries can be used, also)
6-8 medium plums, about 1#

Melt butter in a cake pan, directly on the stove top over low heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until sugar is thoroughly moistened. Remove from heat and cool briefly.
Sprinkle half the berries evenly over the moistened brown sugar. Cut the plums in half, remove the pits and cut the plum halves into 1/2" slices. Arrange the slices over the berries in a concentric, overlapping circle. You may also scatter them evenly. Strew the rest of the berries over the plum slices.

Cake:
1 stick butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk at room temperature

Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes in a stand mixer. Stop the mixer once and scarpe down the sides of the bowl to make sure the butter is completely incorporated. Add the vanilla.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, until completely incorporated.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, bkaing powder and salt. Mix half of the flour mixture into the batter. Stir the milk into the batter, add the remaining dry ingredients and stir just until smooth; do not overmix. The batter will be quite thick.
Carefully spead the batter over the fruit in the cake pan, smoothing with a spatula. Bake the upside-cake for about 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the cake stand at least 20 minutes before unmolding. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Invert a serving plate over the cake and carefully flip over both cake and plate simultaneously. Lift off the cake pan and scrape any fruit that may have stuck to the pan back onto the cake.

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.