| Chef2Chef Recipe Club - Volume 1 Number 070 - December 21, 2001. Forum, Subscribe & Unsubscribe Information are at the end of this message. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Good Day Recipe Club. Today is the last day of our subscriber "Favorite Holiday Recipes" week. Thank you all for your submittals. There will be no mailings for the Recipe Club next week due to the Holiday Break. We will start back up on January 1. There was a missing step in the recently posted Eggnog recipe from Chef June, so we've put up the corrected recipe at the bottom of today's selections. Sorry for any inconvenience. All of us at Chef2Chef.net wish you and yours a fantastic holiday season and offer our best wishes for the New Year. We have some exciting plans for 2002 and are looking forward to sharing those with you. I'd also like to thank our many chefs and authors who have contributed to this forum. They are the one's who keep it fresh and exciting. God Bless them! Keep sending us your ideas and thoughts as we really do appreciate those. Again, Best Wishes and Bon Appetit! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ STUFFED FRENCH TOAST There are so many different ways of preparing French toast, however, this one seems to be my wife Jacki, favorite. A standard batter is prepared then simply stuff with your favorite fruit preserve/cream cheese mixture. 8 to 10 Slices of day old French bread 4 Eggs, slightly beaten 1Cup Whole milk 1tsp Vanilla extract 1/2tsp Cinnamon 3oz Cream cheese, softened at room temperature 1oz Fruit preserves i.e. peach, cherry, strawberry etc. Mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a large glass-mixing bowl. Slice the bread in slices approximately 1 inch thick. If the size of the loaf is too large, cut the slices in two. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat with electric mixer; whip the cream cheese until well softened. Clean all the cream cheese off the mixer blades and add to the bowl. Fold in your favorite preserves. Preserves with larger pieces of fruit work the best. Preheat a heavy griddle or large fry pan over medium heat. On one of the edges of the slice of bread, insert a paring knife and carefully cut a small pouch into the bread near the center. Make the pouch large enough to hold one tablespoon of the cream cheese/preserve mixture. After filling the pouch with the mixture, dip into the egg batter allowing some of the batter to be absorbed into the bread. Do not allow too much egg to be absorbed or the bread will fall apart while handling. Just before frying, spray the griddle or fry pay with a pray-vegetable oil; fry the toast. Serve with choice of syrup, dust with powered sugar and garnish with a teaspoon of the fruit used in the cream cheese mixture. Chef Johnny http://www.chefjohnny.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Magic Cookies Here is recipe that many people may know but we always fix this during the holidays. My mother cut this out of a magazine back in the very early 70's. We call them "Magic Cookies". I have seen different variations over the years, but I still like the original version, especially warm out of the oven with a huge glass of milk! 1-2 cups graham cracker crumbs (depends on the size pan you use). I use a 9 x 13. 1 small bag of chocolate chips 1 1/4 cup flaked coconut 1 cup pecans chopped 1 can of condensed milk. 3-4 tsp. melted butter Mix melted butter and graham cracker crumbs in pan until all crumbs are moist. Add a little more butter if necessary. Lightly wet hands and push crumbs into an even layer on bottom of pan. Next add the pecans, scattering evenly over the graham crackers. Next add your chocolate chips. Top with a light layer of coconut, enough to cover everything. Carefully pour the condensed milk over the entire pan, (I make one hole on each side of the can and pour it out) until all the coconut is covered. Bake in a 375 degree oven until the coconut turns light brown. About 20-30 minutes. Happy Holidays! Teri K. Seybt ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This side dish will quickly become a favorite of the entire family! It is quick to prepare and goes especially well with pork or poultry. It can accompany a simple broiled chicken breast or an elegant pork roast. Enjoy! Linda Murray ORANGE ORZO WITH CORN 1 ½ c. orzo 1 (11 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained 1 tsp. grated orange zest 1/3 c. orange juice concentrate 1 Tbsp. butter Bring 2 quarts water to boiling in pot. Add orzo; cook 9 to 11 minutes. Drain orzo. Return to pot. Stir in corn, zest, orange juice concentrate and butter. Reheat if necessary. Serves 4. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I am submitting my very favorite Italian cheesecake recipe...though it sounds rich, it's really lighter and creamier than conventional cheesecakes. This is a must among desserts I prepare for the holidays. Italian Cheesecake Please do NOT substitute any of the ingredients, the results will not be the same if you do. It's best to make this one day ahead to allow all the flavors to meld. Equipment: 12 inch springform pan Electric mixer 2 large bowls Preheat oven to 425 degrees Ingredients: 3 pounds of WHOLE milk ricotta 2 cups of sugar 1/2 cup of sifted all-purpose flour 18-20 graham or honey graham crackers, finely crushed 8 egg yolks 8 egg whites 1/2 cup of whipped heavy cream Grated rind of 1 orange Grated rind of 1 lemon 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla Unsalted butter, softened Generously butter the pan and sprinkle well with graham cracker crumbs. Beat ricotta until smooth, gradually adding 1 one half of the sugar. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange and lemon rinds, the flour, and vanilla. With clean beaters, in a large bowl, beat egg whites gradually adding the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar until stiff. Fold the egg whites and whipped cream into the ricotta mixture. Turn into the prepared pan, Bake 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower heat to 350 degrees and bake 1 hour. Turn off the oven, and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for one hour, with the oven door closed. Remove the springform...and allow to cool completely on a rack. Refrigerate when completely cooled... Remove from refrigerator one hour prior to serving... Dust with confectioner's sugar.... Enjoy! and Happy Holidays! Jeanne DeAngelis ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Chef Dave: Here is the recipe the way it's SUPPOSED to be! CHRISTMAS EGGNOG 8 eggs, separated 3/4cup sugar 1 cup Cognac 1/2cup heavy cream 2 TBS. powdered sugar (Freshly grated) nutmeg 1. Put egg yolks and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and lemon-colored (this will take a while!). 2. Gradually add the Cognac, beating on low. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into the egg yolks. Whip the egg whites with the powdered sugar until shiny points form. Don't overwhip. Fold the whites into the eggnog. Serve in goblets with fresh nutmeg grated on top. Chef June Jacobs CCP ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chef2Chef Recipe Club - Simply the best daily recipe Club on the Web! Free delicious recipes delivered daily via email. 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