Recipes

Over the years, we've enjoyed many delicious dishes at our meetings and luncheons. Our fellow therapists have generously shared their recipes here.

Cherry Crumble Pie Bars--Mary Gilkerson, July 2015

Makes: 32 servings      Yield: 32 bars

Prep: 25 mins              Bake: 350°F 55 mins

[Half the recipe works fine in an 8 X 8 baking pan;  all else the same]

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ¼ cups finely ground almonds

¾ cup packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, cut up

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

½ teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

4 cups frozen unsweetened pitted tart red cherries, thawed and drained

½ teaspoon almond extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending the foil over the edges of the pan; set aside.

2. For crust, in a large bowl, stir together the flour, almonds, and brown sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Remove 1-1/2 cups of the mixture; set aside. Press the remaining mixture evenly onto the bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, for filling, in another large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and lemon peel. Add cherries and almond extract; toss gently to combine. Spoon cherry filling over hot baked crust, spreading evenly (mixture will be wet). Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

4. Bake about 40 minutes more or until filling is bubbly and topping is lightly browned. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Using the edges of the foil, lift the baked mixture out of the pan. Invert onto a baking sheet; remove foil. Invert again onto a cutting board. Cut into bars. Makes 32 bars.

·    Storage Layer bars between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Farro Salad - Roasted Rutabaga, Ricotta Salata & Hazelnuts

Time: About 1 hour, New York Times                1/6/2010

1 1/2 pounds rutabaga, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more for drizzling

1 tablespoon maple syrup

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups farro

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, more for drizzling

1 fat garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup crumbled ricotta salata or feta cheese

1/2 cup toasted, chopped hazelnuts

2 bunches watercress or arugula, cleaned and trimmed.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss rutabaga with 2 tablespoons oil, the maple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast, stirring once or twice, until rutabaga is very tender and browned, 30 to 40 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add farro. Cook until tender, checking often. This can take from 20 minutes to an hour, depending upon type of farro used. Add more water if necessary.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the shallot, vinegar, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk in 3 tablespoons olive oil and some pepper.

4. Drain farro well and add to bowl along with rutabaga, tossing everything well. Let cool slightly (it can still be warm but not hot), then mix in the cheese and hazelnuts. Taste and add more salt, pepper and olive oil if necessary.

5. In another bowl, drizzle watercress or arugula with a little oil and vinegar and toss well. Serve farro on a bed of watercress.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Almond Cake (Deanna)

1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup almond paste*
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sliced almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Separate egg and set white aside. Beat yolk into butter mixture.
Best in almond paste and almond extract until smooth.
4. Beat in flour just until well-combined.
5. Press into ungreased 8x8x2" pan.
6. Beat egg white until frothy. Spread on dough and cover with sliced almonds.
7. Bake 30 minutes or until golden-brown. Cool completely, then cut into pieces.

*Do not substitute prepared almond filling for the almond paste.

Cherry Squares

2 sticks of butter or margarine
1 1/2 cup of sugar
4 eggs
2 cups of flour
1 tsp lemon extract
1 can Comstock cherry

Butter and flour a 12x8 pan and preheat the oven 350.

With a mixer, mix the butter until soft. Add sugar gradually. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour gradually. I didn't have the extract and it was okay.

Place the batter in the pan. Spoon cherries over the batter.Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes.


Crab Dip (Arleen)

1 10.7 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope unflavored gelatine dissolved in 3 T water
1 cup mayonnaise
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1 8 ounce imitation crab
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green onions

Warm mushroom soup in saucepan. Add gelatine and cool. Combine remaining ingredients, mix in
soup-gelatine mixture and spoon into mold. For best results refrigerate overnite.


Crunchy Pea Salad (Deanna)

1 package (10 oz.) frozen petite peas, thawed (not cooked)
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped cashews or macadamia nuts
¼ cup crisp bacon bits
½ tsp salt (I reduce the salt)

1 cup sour cream
¼ cup Garden Cafe dressing (see below)

Combine peas, celery, nuts, salt and bacon (I omit the bacon for a vegetarian salad). Mix sour cream and Garden Cafe Dressing and fold into peas. Chill.

Garden Cafe Dressing

2 tsp. lemon juice
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 ¼ Tb. salt (I reduce the salt)
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 Tb. Worcestershire
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 tsp. sugar
3 cups corn oil (I reduce this and adjust the amount that I add to the sour cream)

In a blender, combine all except oil. Gradually add oil and blend again



Meyer Lemon Tea Cake w/ Blueberry Compote (http://www.sfgate.com/food/recipes/detail.html?p=detail&rid=18188 via Ellen)

The chef uses individual cake pans - looks pretty - but who has that many?! The alternative: bake in two cake pans. I held out on you and only brought one. I'd make half the recipe next time. Note: It took 5 lemons to get enough zest and juice.

From Rebecca Rader, pastry chef and owner of Frascati restaurant. She serves these cakes in individual portions,but if you don't have several small cake molds, it's fine to make this in two rounds. If you can't get Meyer lemons, use regular Eureka lemons.

The lemon cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup grated Meyer lemon zest

1 tablespoon honey
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

The soak:
1/2 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar

The frosting:
1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 cups sifted powdered sugar

The blueberry compote:
2 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon butter

To make the cake: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans or set aside two non-stick round pans.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl; set aside.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the lemon zest and honey, and beat quickly to combine.
4. In another bowl, combine the cream, vanilla and lemon juice. Add the dry ingredients to the batter, alternating with the cream mixture, in three additions, scraping down the sides as you go.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans, smoothing the top. Bake until the top springs back and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes.
6. Let stand for about 10 minutes; remove cake from pans onto a parchment-lined pan or other surface.

To make the soak: 

1. Heat the lemon juice and the sugar in a small saucepan until sugar is fully dissolved.
2. Using a skewer, poke several holes in the tops of the two cakes. Spoon the lemon-sugar mixture evenly over the two cakes, letting it soak into the still-warm cake.

To make the frosting: 

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the lemon juice and remove from the heat. Pour over the powdered sugar, whisking constantly until smooth. If too thick, add a little water or more lemon juice to achieve a pourable consistency.
2. When cake has cooled slightly, drizzle the icing over the tops, letting it run down the sides.

To make the compote: 

1. Combine 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries with the sugar and vanilla in a saucepan. Add just enough water to moisten the sugar; it should look sandy.
2. Cook over medium-low heat, until the blueberries start to break down, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the cornstarch slurry and let simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in the remaining 1/2 cup blueberries and the butter.

Serve the cake in wedges with the compote spooned over the top.

per serving: 507 calories, 5 g protein, 77 g carbohydrate, 21 g fat (13 g saturated), 111 mg cholesterol, 212 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

Makes 2 9-inch round cakes, serves 14 to 16.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade (from SFgate.com via Deanna Lyon)

Using the whole fruit instead of just the peel makes a marmalade so thick and creamy that it almost looks like lemon curd. Whole-fruit marmalade is one of the easiest (and most surefire)preserves to make: the natural pectin in the fruit ensures the mixture will set up, and the high level of sugar - a natural preservative - helps it keep well. For those who like a tad more bitterness in their marmalade, this recipe can also be made without pre-boiling or blanching the fruit. In that case, add 5 cups water and 5 cups sugar to the sliced peel and cook until peel is very tender, 1 1/2-2 hours.

5 pounds Meyer lemons, scrubbed clean
3 1/2 to 5 cups sugar
1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (reserved from juicing lemons)
9 half-pint jars and sealing lids

Cut lemons in half, juice (reserve juice), and slice crosswise as thinly as possible.

Put sliced lemons in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until peel is tender to the bite, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse. Rinse pot as well.

Return lemons to pot with 1 1/2 cups water (this will not be enough to cover lemons, but lemons will continue to release their own liquid as mixture cooks) and bring to a boil. Stir in 3 1/2 cups sugar. Adjust heat to maintain a slow simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick and creamy and lemon is extremely tender to the bite, about 1 hour.



Taste and add up to 1 1/2 cups additional sugar to taste (amount of sugar needed depends on personal taste and sweetness of original lemons, which varies). Stir to dissolve any additional sugar. Stir in ½ cup of the reserved lemon juice.

Put clean jars and lids on a large baking sheet or pan and heat in a 225 oven for 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to jars, leaving about 1/2 inch of headspace between top of mixture and lid. Put on lids and twist on rings. Process in a large pot of boiling water for 10 minutes or run through the "rinse and hold" or similar cycle on a dishwasher. Marmalade keeps, unopened, up to sixmonths. Once opened, keep refrigerated.

per tablespoon: 20 calories, 0 protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 0 fat (0 saturated), 0 cholesterol, 0 sodium, 0 fiber.


Makes 9 cups.





Molded Almond Cream (from Sunset Magazine 19?? via Ellen)

½ cup sugar
1 package unflavored gelatin
½ cup hot water
1 cup half-and-half (light cream) or milk
1 cup sour cream (low fat works!)
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Sliced or whole strawberries, sliced apricots, bananas, oranges, kiwis, peaches or nectarines
Thin, crisp ginger, shortbread, or butter cookies (optional)

In a small pan, blend together the sugar and unflavored gelatin. Add water and mix well. Let stand about 5 minutes. Then bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Remove sugar mixture from heat, and then gradually pour in half-and-half.

In a bowl, mix the sour cream with the almond flavoring and lemon juice; gradually beat in sugar mixture until smooth. Pour into a 2½- to 3-cup mold. Cover and chill until set, at least 4 hours.

Dip mold in hot water until edges of the cream begin to liquefy – just a few seconds. Dry mold and invert onto serving dish.

To serve, offer fresh fruit and cookies to eat alongside. Or spoon the cream onto a cookie and top with fruit to eat.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.


Nantucket Cranberry Pie (from Betsy's mom)

2 cups cranberries
½ cup sugar
½ cup walnuts, chopped

Crust
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp almond extract
¾ cup melted butter
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 325’F. Grease a 10” pie plate. 

Place cranberries in the bottom of the pie plate. Sprinkle with the ½ cup of sugar and the chopped nuts. Set aside.

Combine 1 cup of sugar and the melted butter. Add the beaten eggs, almond extract, and flour. Beat until smooth. Pour over the berries.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm or cold, with whipped cream or ice cream.


Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Pomegranates (Ellen)

What better for a holiday pot luck than red and green?  Brussel sprouts and pomegranates make a colorful pairing. Celebrity chef Bobbie Flay already has multiple variations for roasted Brussel Sprouts with pomegranates. I took this one and created my own rift.

3 pounds Brussel sprouts, washed, trimmed and quartered
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (1/2 teaspoon each or to taste)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Arils from 2 large pomegranates (about 4 cups)
Zest from 1 lime, 1 lemon and 1 orange

Toss Brussel sprouts with oil, salt and pepper. Microwave until al dente. Spread on two large baking sheets and roast at 375 degrees F until half browned, about 20 minutes. Spread walnuts in a small pan and roast in oven concurrently.

Transfer Brussel sprouts to a large bowl. (To transport, cover bowl, combine pomegranate and zests in another container and keep nuts separate.)

Reheat Brussel sprouts, if desired. Then add pomegranates, zests and walnuts. Toss to serve. Good hot, cold or in-between. Enjoy!

Makes 10 to 12 servings.