Volume 9, Issue 130 - December 30, 2005

Hello ,

I hope you have enjoyed these past two weeks of holiday recipes from our forum members. I would like to thank each and every one of them for all the time they take out of their lives to participate on our forums. The wealth of information and camaraderie that exists there is overwhelming at times. If you ever have a question, just log on to our Forums and  Ask a Chef a question. Maybe one of these fine chefs will get you your answer.

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year on behalf of the team at Chef2Chef.net. May 2006 be the best year of your life.

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Scallop Pineapple

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
20 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups firmly packed, cubed bread (about 5 slices)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.

Cream 1/2 cup butter with sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gently stir in pineapple. Blend in lemon juice and nutmeg. Fold in bread and spoon into baking dish. Bake until top is lightly golden, about 50 minutes. Serve hot.

Source: Chef2Chef Forum Member, Chef Jean Denham, CC

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Rich Chocolate Torte

Fantastically rich and delicious. Serve in very small pieces.

Ingredients:

6 or 8 ounces vanilla wafers, crushed
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
3 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 pint whipping cream

Preparation:

Put half the crumbs into 9x9 inch dish. Cream butter and sugar well. Add melted chocolate and then eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in nuts and vanilla. Pour this in crumb lined dish.

Whip cream stiffly. Spread over chocolate mixture. Top with remaining crumbs. Refrigerate overnight.

Source: Chef2Chef Forum Member, Chef Jean Denham, CC

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Chocolate-Orange Cream Cake

I would not exactly call this a "family" recipe, but it certainly is good. In addition to the other decorations, I put half of an orange slice in a sort of wagon wheel around the bottom of the cake.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa*
1/2 cup boiling water
2/3 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon orange extract
Cream Filling (recipe follows)
Grand Marnier Frosting (recipe follows)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease 3, 8 or 9-inch round cake pans, line with wax paper (I use parchment). Grease and flour wax paper and sides of pans. Set aside

Combine cocoa and boiling water in a small bowl, stir until smooth. Set aside.

Beat shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

Combine buttermilk, soda and salt. Add flour to shortening mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Beat at low speed after each addition until blended. Stir in cocoa mixture and orange extract. Beat 2 more minutes. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake layers cool in pans 10 minutes, remove from pans. Peel off wax paper and let layers cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Cream Filling between layers to within 1/2 inch of edge. Spread Grand Marnier Frosting on sides and top of cake. Garnish, if desired with orange slices and curls and chocolate ribbons.

*We prefer Dutch cocoa such as Droste in the cake layers for the richest flavor (but the recipe will still taste good if you use Hershey's cocoa).

Note: To make the orange curl garnish for the cake, use a citrus peeler to peel strips of rind from an orange, or peel 1 orange with a knife, leaving white pith on fruit. Cut orange rind into long, thin strips. Wrap rind strips tightly around a pencil to create curls. Freeze briefly, then remove orange rind strips from pencil.

Cream Filling

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk, plus 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup shortening
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Preparation:

Combine flour and milk in a small saucepan; cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, 3 minutes or until mixture resembles a soft frosting and is thick enough to hold its shape. (Do not boil.) Remove from heat; let cool.

Beat shortening and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy, add flour mixture, orange extract and salt, beating well. Gradually add sugar, beating at high speed 4 to 5 minutes or until fluffy.

Grand Marnier Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
3 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Preparation:

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add chocolate, Grand Marnier, whipping cream and salt, beat well. Gradually add sugar, beating at high speed for 5 minutes or until spreading consistency.

Source: Chef2Chef Forum Member, Billy J Cotton, adapted from a recipe by Southern Living