Spring Into Spring

--
God Bless and have a great day.

Rosalie Fiorino Harpole

Newsletter - Spring into Spring - March 1, 2012

 

Greetings to all the wonderful friends and fans of Rosalie Serving Cookbooks.   Well, here we are again, anticipating a beautiful spring season right around the corner.   While I really love all the aspects of spring; the bulbs popping through the ground, buds on the roses and trees, and the explosion of color everywhere, I must also tell you that I lament the work I need to do to get there. 

 

I am still looking at some left over Christmas lights that my husband promised would  come down off the fence, raking leaves away from all my many flower gardens,  changing wardrobes from winter to spring (especially when we end up dragging the sweaters back out related to late freezes), and above all....spring cleaning!

 

Since I would rather cook then clean, I have come up with a solution.  I think I will hire the neighbor kid to rake the leaves, Bill can take down the Christmas lights (he has until May), and I can just buy some new spring clothes.  The cleaning will just have to come in spurts...you know, when I get the inspiration.

 

My motto is this: simplify.     As I was saying,  my tranquility comes from baking up something good, and since it is so medicinal for me, I thought I would share my glorious Lemon Coconut Cake with the Lemon Curd Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting, with you, my dear friends. 

 

It all started when I got out my spring white tablecloth with the yellow round placemats.  My kitchen is yellow and I got to thinking about a centerpiece to highlight the table.  That's when I thought of the beautiful 3-layer stately cake sitting up high on one of my many cake pedestals.  Why not just celebrate spring with an evening of friends and the cake as my centerpiece. 

 

Another reason why I love making this cake is that the recipe is doubled to get the three layers, so there is plenty of batter left over for beautiful cupcakes.  One of my students from the cooking class at the Rendezvous Café tells me that she takes the cupcakes, makes a slit in the middle, plops a dollop of lemon curd in, frosts them with left-over cream cheese frosting and then freezes them.  She claims they are so delicious; she sometime eats them still frozen just like ice cream.

 

 There you have it, friends...no reason to fret over all you're piled up chores.  I say shed the stress...bake a cake, and spring into spring! 

 

Happy Spring,

Rosalie

Cinco de Mayo - Recipe - Chicken Enchiladas with Verde Sauce

-- ROSALIE SERVING HOLIDAYS - MAY 

Thursday, May 10, 2012

3:37 PM

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS WITH VERDE SAUCE

 

 NOTE:  This recipe comes from Lili Stephens who grew up in a Mexican home eating the best of her mother's Mexican cuisine.  You will love rich sauce and crunchy corn tortillas.

 

3 chicken breasts

1 tablespoon chicken base

 

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles

1 (10-ounce) cream of chicken soup

2 (10-ounce) cans green enchilada sauce, divided

½ teaspoon granulated garlic

 

1 (`16-ounce) package yellow corn tortillas

olive oil

 

1 (8-ounce) package shredded Monterey jack cheese or Mexican blend

 

cilantro sprigs

 

 R1.  Rinse chicken breasts under cool water.  Remove all skin and fat from chicken and place in large pot covered with water.  Bring water to boil, and remove foam as it rises to the top.  Add chicken base and cover pot with lid.  Boil chicken until tender, about 20 minutes.  Remove chicken breasts and let cool in bowl.    Once cooled, remove all bones, and chop or shred chicken into small pieces. 

2.  Place chicken in large bowl.   Add green chiles, chicken soup and ½ can of one of the enchilada sauces.  Stir in the garlic, and mix together well.  Set aside.

3.    In small skillet, fry the tortillas one at a time in hot olive oil, just until bubbly, about 30 seconds.  Remove quickly and while still warm, place 2 tablespoons chicken mixture to one side of the tortilla.  Next, add a tablespoon of the shredded cheese over the chicken and roll the tortilla up.  Place the tortillas on a large baking sheet, (12-inch by 16-inch), that has been coated with the remainder ½ green enchilada sauce on the bottom.

4.   Continue to fry the tortillas, filling them and rolling them up until all chicken mixture has been used.   When all the tortillas are placed on the baking sheet, pour the remaining can of sauce over the filled tortillas.  Bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until bubbly.   There should be 18 enchiladas.

5.   Place enchiladas on serving platter and garnish top with shredded cheese and sprigs of cilantro.God Bless and have a great day.

Rosalie Fiorino Harpole

Chocolate Cream-Filled Cup Cakes - 2-16-12

February 16-2012

CHOCOLATE CREAM-FILLED CUPCAKES

 

NOTE: These cupcakes are almost as heavenly as manna falling from heaven.  From the rich chocolate frosting to the sweet cream filling, this is a rave review waiting to happen.  Simply delicious!

 

1 box plain Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Devil's Food cake mix

1 package (3.9-ounce) chocolate instant pudding mix

 

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream
½ cup water

½ cup mild olive oil

 

1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

 

1 recipe Rich chocolate Frosting

1 recipe Sweet Cream Filling

 

 sugar crystals

 

1.        Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Place 24 cupcake holders in standard muffin cups, or 18 for larger cupcakes; set aside.

 

2.        Combine both cake mix and pudding mix in large mixing bowl; toss together.  Add eggs, sour cream, water and olive oil.  Mix with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Batter will be thick.

 

3.        Fill cupcake holders with cake batter 2/3 full.  This batter will make 24 regular cupcakes, unless larger cupcakes are desired, then fill 18 holders.  Bake for 26 to 28 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out dry.  Remove from oven and cool completely.  Fill with cream filling and frost with chocolate frosting; sprinkle with red crystals.  Makes 18 to 24 cupcakes.

 

SWEET CREAM FILLING

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

1.        Place cream cheese and powdered sugar in mixing bowl and cream together with electric mixer until smooth.   Add the whipping cream a little at a time until all blended; add vanilla.  Mix on high for 1 to 2 minutes to a smooth consistency.  Using a teaspoon, remove a deep cap from top of each cupcake.  Fill center with 1 tablespoon filling.  Return cap and frost.

 

RICH CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1 stick butter

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

 

3 cups powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla

 

       sugar crystals

 

1.        Cream butter and cocoa with electric mixer until smooth.  Add powdered sugar, salt, milk and vanilla.  Mix together until frosting is smooth and lump free.  Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with sugar crystals.    Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.  Note:  If more frosting is desired, double the recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 Recipe found in Rosalie Serving Country cookbook on page 218.  Add this recipe to Rosalie Serving Italian cookbook – 2-16
God Bless and have a great day.

Rosalie Fiorino Harpole

October 10, 2011 - Pass the Peas, Please

Pass the Peas, Please - October 10, 2011

Greetings to all the wonderful friends and fans of Rosalie Serving Cookbooks.  If there is one thing I have learned about cooking, it is simply this...there are usually one or  two food items that most everybody hates.

 

It could be the black olives on the pizza, the mushrooms or onions on the burger, the raisins in the cookies, or more likely, the dreaded peas, fixed alone or in anything.

 

My husband tells the story of when he was growing up and how his mother was insistent on her children eating everything on their plate.

 

He would simply wait until his mother was not watching, and then scraped the peas off into a 2-inch hollow ridge below the table top, which also served as a brace to the table itself.  The brace was lower on one side, and easy enough to stuff in any contents desired.  It wasn't until years later, when my mother-in-law decided she needed a new kitchen table that she discovered a green dried paste lining the under  brace.

 

I think we can all sympathize to the taste of the canned mushy peas, but also admit that the fresh frozen peas of recent years are a much better version.

 

Take for instance the awesome recipe of Vermicelli with Peas & Pancetta. This recipe features Pancetta, and Italian salt cured bacon, seasoned with such spices as nutmeg, fennel, peppercorns and dried ground peppers.  It is then dried for at least  3 months.  It's rendering  goes right into the creamy sauce, giving the whole dish a most pleasant flavor.

 

The fresh frozen peas are tossed into the dish along with heavy cream and cheese, giving it  just a little crunch of goodness.  Put it all together and you have a classic  pasta with peas dish that even peas-haters will have to love.

 

I say, cook it up tonight, and let your taste-buds go crazy with delight!  You may even have to say…"pass the peas, please."

 

Pasta with Peas and Pancetta

October 10, 2011

Vermicelli with Peas & Pancetta

NOTE:  This is a delightful pasta dish, with a creamy  sauce and fresh  frozen peas and mushrooms.  Awesome!  Can't find pancetta?...use a thick meaty bacon, it works great.

 

12- ounces vermicelli or thin spaghetti

1 tablespoon salt

 

4 to 5 slices pancetta, or thick sliced lean bacon, cut into small pieces

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

 

1 medium onion, chopped fine, about 1 cup

2 cups thick sliced white mushrooms

 

3 cups heavy whipping cream, a little more if needed

2 full cups Pecorino Romano, or Romano/ Parmagiano cheese 

 

1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas

 

1 cup reserved pasta water, if needed

 

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

crushed red pepper flakes

  

1.  Fry pancetta in 2 tablespoons olive oil until crisp, about 10 minutes.  Move pancetta to edge of fry pan and add the onions and mushrooms with another 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Saute together for about 5 minutes until onions and mushrooms are lightly browned.

 

2.  Add the heavy cream and cheese and stir constantly for about 2 to 3 minutes, until sauce is just bubbly.  Turn way down, and watch closely to avoid scorching

 

3.    Boil vermicelli in an 8-quart pot boiling water with 1 tablespoon salt for about 6 to 7  minutes. During last 2 minutes of boiling, add the peas. Complete cooking the pasta al dente.  Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain pasta and peas together.   Add pasta and peas to pan with the cream sauce.  Add salt and pepper; stir together well and place into a large pasta bowl.  Sprinkle the top with a few red pepper flakes.   Use the pasta water for later if the pasta gets a little to thick, then add a little at a time if wanting to refresh the sauce a little. 

Serves 4 to 6. 

The Best Pumpkin of All

 November 9, 2011

The Best Pumpkin of All

 

Greetings to all the wonderful friends and fans of Rosalie Serving Cookbooks.  Here we are again right smack in the middle of Holiday time, and that means cleaning, decorating, and of course....baking.

 

One of America's favorite deserts, of course, has to be the Pumpkin Pie.

 

Worried that there wouldn't be enough pumpkin available this year, I did research on the largest pumpkin ever grown.  It turns out that Jim and Kelsey Bryson of Ormstown, Quebec, Canada brought their homegrown pumpkin to the annual Prince Edward Pumpkinfest for the winning weight of 1,818.5 pounds.

 

Now we can recite to our kids for real...."Peter, Peter, Pumpkin eater, had a wife but couldn't keep her.  He put her in a pumpkin shell, and there he kept her very well."  She not only had her own private bedroom and sauna, but a greenhouse, pool, and mother-in-law quarters.

 

With this one pumpkin alone, everyone here and every Third World Country can have their very own pumpkin pie.

 

Is the lowly pumpkin worthy of all it's popularity?  Yea, I say, in every way.  Just to mention all the vitamins alone would take from now to tomorrow.  It is rich in antioxidant fiber, full of Vitamin A and low in fat and calorie.  The pumpkin seeds are a whole other nutritional matter.

 

Besides being so good for us, we can use the pumpkin in breads, cakes, pies, cookies, jams, sauces, soups, stews, ravioli, and for wallpaper paste.  Well, maybe not the last one.  You do get the drift.

 

So I offer my most awesome, wonderful, mouthwatering, pumpkin dessert... Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Filling and Candied Pecans.

 Your guests will kiss and hug you, just looking at this beautiful creation.  The cake is soft and rich in cinnamon, and the cheese filling along with the candied pecans, send it over the top.

 

So, have a blessed holiday, and be sure to serve the "best pumpkin of all."

 

Happy Holidays

Rosalie

 

 

Recipe - Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese and Candied Pecans

Pumpkin Cake Roll with Cream Cheese Filling and Candied Pecans 

 

NOTE:  This recipe is one that you will make over and over.  I can't tell you how good it is, you will just have to experience it.

 

1 (15-inch by 10-inch) cookie sheet

parchment paper to fit cookie sheet

melted butter

flour

 

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup solid packed pumpkin

 

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

peppermint sprigs

 

Cream Cheese Filling

1( 8-ounce) package cream cheese

4 tablespoons butter (not margarine)

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

 

Candied Pecans

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoon sugar

 

1.  Preheat oven to 350-degrees.  Using parchment or waxed paper, brush on melted butter and dust with flour.

 

2.  Beat eggs, sugar, and pumpkin until well mixed, about 1 minute.

 

3.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.  Add to same mixing bowl containing the pumpkin mixture, and mix on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute.  Scrape down sides as needed.

 

4. Pour mixture onto cookie sheet, making sure batter is evenly spread, using spatula.   Bake cake for 15 minutes.

 

5.  Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.  After cooling, loosen cake around edges.  Sprinkle a large clean kitchen towel or pillow case with 3/4 cup powdered sugar.  Flip cake onto towel, and gently remove pan.  Starting from the 15-inch side, roll up cake and towel together; let set for about 1 hour.

 

6.  While cake is cooling, make cream cheese filling using an electric mixer.  Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth; set aside in refrigerator.

 

7.  Place pecans in dry skillet and sprinkle with sugar. Over medium heat constantly stir pecans until sugar melts and pecans are candied, about 2 to 3 minutes; set aside on waxed paper.

 

8.  Unroll towel and cake; remove towel and place cake  back on cookie sheet.  Spread 3/4 cup cream cheese filling over cake, spreading within 1/2- inch of edges. Next, sprinkle 3/4 cup candied pecans over filling. Roll cake up gently and place seam-side down on decorative tray.  Spread remainder cream cheese filling across top of roll, and sprinkle with remaining nuts.  Sprinkle with remaining powdered sugar, and garnish ends with peppermint springs if desired.  Makes 12 1-inch slices.