hot crab dip

• 250 gr reduced-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 300 gr fresh crab meat, picked over for bits of shell and patted dry
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Whole-wheat crackers for serving, optional

Stir together the cream cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, crab boil spice, and garlic in a medium saucepan until smooth; season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Heat the cream cheese mixture over medium-low heat until warm, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes. Fold in the crab, scallions, parsley and lemon juice and warm until heated through, about 1 minute more. Serve immediately.

leeks with walnut vinaigrette

Trim the tough dark green tops and stem ends of 12 leeks, but keep the bases intact. Halve lengthwise and rinse well. Boil in salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool in a bowl of salted ice water, then drain and pat dry. Whisk 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a bowl. Whisk in 1/3 cup walnut oil and drizzle over the leeks. Top with chopped toasted walnuts and chopped parsley.

amaretto cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of almond flour -or- 3 cups of blanched slivered almonds, finely ground up
• 1 1/4 cup of baker's sugar (superfine sugar)
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon of amaretto
• Extra sugar for dusting

1 Preheat oven to 300 F / 150 C and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2 In a food processor mill together the almond flour and sugar. Add the vanilla and amaretto and pulse for a few seconds. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to process until the dough is smooth.
3 Place teaspoons of the dough on the parchment paper and dust with sugar. Bake for 24-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely before serving. They will be slightly chewy at first, but they will be nicely crispy as a day or two goes by. Store in a cool, dry place. (Note: I usually underbake mine since I like them chewy. If that's your preference, bake them for about 20-24 minutes.) Makes about 30 cookies.

helado con hojas de caramelo

- Una tarrina de helado
- 200 gr de azúcar
- 1 cucharada de agua
- Papel parafinado para horno
- Una cucharadita de aceite

TRUCO: Cuando el azúcar esté líquido, mete el cazo en un recipiente con agua fría para frenar la caramelización. Calcula qué grado de dulzor quieres tener : a medida que el caramelo se oscurece, se vuelve más amargo. 

 

En un cazo, calienta a fuego moderado el agua con el azúcar. Impregna el papel parafinado con un poquito de aceite. Cuando el azúcar se licúe, retira el cazo del fuego y viértelo sobre el papel dibujando formas separadas entre sí con siluetas escarpadas e irregulares. Déjalo enfriar a temperatura ambiente hasta que solidifique. Despega las figuras de caramelo. Sirve el helado y decora con las láminas caramelizadas.
 

tartaletas de mousse de turron

- 100 gr de chocolate
- 20 gr de almendras crudas picadas
- 75 gr de turrón de jijona
- 4 dl de nata para montar
- 3 claras montadas
- unos frutos rojos

Engrasa una hoja de papel parafinado. Funde el chocolate al baño María y forma círculos sobre el papel. Espolvoréalos con las almendras y déjalos en la nevera hasta que se solidifiquen. Calienta 1 dl de nata e incorpora el turrón, retira del fuego y remueve hasta que se forme una crema homogénea. Monta el resto de la nata e incorpora la crema de turrón sin dejar de remover. Monta las claras a punto de nieve y anadelas a la mezcla de la nata y el turron. Reserva unas horas en la nevera.Monta las milhojas y adórnalas con almendras y algunos frutos rojos

mousse de queso y membrillo

 

Ingredientes

• 1 bloque de membrillo de unos 500 gramos , 300 g de crema de queso, 100 ml de nata, 80 g de azúcar, 1 cucharadita de canela y frutos rojos.

Cortar con un haro de emplatar el membrillo.
Para hacer la mousse de queso batimos la nata y cuando esté a medio montar añadimos el azúcar y seguimos montando.
A continuación añadimos el queso previamente trabajado y mezclamos bien. Junto con una cucharadita de canela.
Para fortalecer la mousse de queso podemos utilizar un poco de gelatina en su elaboración de tal forma que si tiene que esperar mucho rato en la nevera para las comidas navideñas no se nos baje. Solo habría que añadir unos 2 gramos de gelatina remojada en 20 ml de nata caliente. Dejamos a temperatura ambiente y montamos con el resto a medio montar.
Solo queda montar el postre. En la base el membrillo y encima la mousse, colocamos unos frutos rojos y servimos.

carrot cupcakes

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 large eggs

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

1 cup (240 ml) safflower, corn, or canola oil

2 cups (210 grams) finely grated raw carrots

1 cup grated apple (approximately 2 large)

1/2 cup (55 grams) pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped

1 cup (100 grams) raisins or currants

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Place paper liners in 20 muffin cups.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. 
In another large bowl whisk the eggs, sugar, and oil until slightly thickened. Fold in the flour mixture until incorporated. With a large rubber spatula fold in the grated carrots, grated apple, chopped nuts, and raisins. Evenly divide the batter between the 20 muffin cups and bake about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  
Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Pipe or with a knife or small metal spatula spread the cream cheese frosting on top of each cupcake. Cover and refrigerate the cupcakes until serving time.

strawberry and lemon curd trifle

Pound Cake (home made or store bought) (can also use a sponge or butter cake or ladyfingers)

1 1/2 cups (360 ml) Strawberry Sauce

1/2 pound (225 grams) fresh strawberries, sliced
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) Lemon Curd (home made or store bought)
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) heavy whipping cream
2 - 3 tablespoons (25 - 35 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 crushed Amaretti Cookies or shortbread cookies (home made or store bought)

In the bottom of your trifle bowl place slices (about 1/3 inch thick) of the home made or store bought pound cake. Fill in any gaps with pieces of the cake. Pour half of the strawberry sauce over the pound cake. Top the strawberry sauce with half of the sliced strawberries. Then pour half of the lemon curd over the strawberries. Top with half of the whipped cream. Repeat the layers. Cover and refrigerate for 8 and up to 24 hours to allow the flavors to mingle. Just before serving sprinkle the top of the trifle with the crushed Amaretti or shortbread cookies.

Serves about 10 people.

Note: This trifle can also be made into individual servings (as shown above). Simply follow the recipe for the large trifle only instead of using a large trifle bowl, use small glasses (about 1 cup (240 ml)). Makes about 8 individual servings (depending on the size of your glasses).