Greek Blossoms - Fresh Figs With Honey, Yogurt, And Walnuts

Total Time: 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 8 fresh figs, sliced lengthwise into quartered 'blossoms'
• 2 tablespoons fig marmalade
• 2 tablespoons greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 8 dashes ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons herbed chevre goat cheese, coarsely crumbled
• 8 walnut pieces
• fresh mint leaves, to garnish
• whole wheat crackers or sliced baguette, if desired

Recipe

• 1 use a sharp knife to mark an "x" on the top of each fig, being careful not to cut more than 3/4 of the way down the fruit.
• 2 spread open each fig 'blossom', to expose the pink center. arrange the figs on a platter.
• 3 use a small spoon to fill each fig with marmalade, greek yogurt, and honey. dust with cinnamon.
• 4 finish with small chunks of herbed chevre, walnut pieces, and fresh mint sprigs. serve immediately.
• 5 good with carr's whole wheat crackers or baguette slices, for a more substantial snack.
• 6 variation: substitute creme fraiche for the yogurt, mascarpone cheese with lemon zest for the herbed chevre, and green pistachios instead of walnuts. drizzle with honey and dust with cinnamon -- yum!

Onion Confit, Walnut And Gorgonzola Pizza

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
• salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1 -2 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup dry wine (or use veg. stock)
• pizza dough (uncooked and ready to roll out)
• 1/3 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted, coarsely chopped
• 3 ounces gorgonzola, crumbled
• 1/4 lb mozzarella cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 ounce parmesan cheese, grated (about 3 tbls.)
• 2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped (or use fresh basil)

Recipe

• 1 heat the oil in a large saute pan. add the onions, 1/2 teaspoons salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.saute over medium heat, gently scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to keep the onions from sticking as they caramelize. after about 35 minutes, the onions should be a rich golden color and very sweet. add the garlic, and saute for 5 minutes. add the wine and deglaze the pan with it. set the confit aside to cool.
• 2 preheat the oven to 500*f.
• 3 roll out the dough and place it on a lightly oiled pizza pan. brush with olive oil.
• 4 spread the confit on the dough and sprinkle on the walnuts. follow with the gorgonzola cheese, then the mozzarella.
• 5 bake the pizza for about 8-12 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp. remove it from the oven and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and sage.

Favorite Cheese Ball

Total Time: 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cheese spread (kraft old english)
• 8 ounces blue cheese (kraft roka blue)
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (softened)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or more to taste)
• nuts (walnuts or pecans, chopped)

Recipe

• 1 blend all ingredients and roll in nuts!
• 2 chill in refridgerator for about an hour.

Hungarian Butterhorns

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 16
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one pkg.)
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 cup granulated sugar, plus
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, seperated
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup powdered icing sugar

Recipe

• 1 soften the yeast in warm water.
• 2 stir in the 1 tsp.
• 3 sugar.
• 4 let stand in warm place until bubbly.
• 5 this will take about four minutes.
• 6 cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender.
• 7 stir in the yeast mixture and the egg yolks.
• 8 shape dough into a ball.
• 9 let rest about 30 minutes.
• 10 beat the egg until stiff.
• 11 beat in the remaining sugar to make a thick meringue.
• 12 fold in the nuts.
• 13 set aside.
• 14 roll dough into a 16 inch circle and cut into 16 wedges.
• 15 spread meringue onto the dough.
• 16 roll each wedge from wide end to the tip.
• 17 place onto a greased baking sheet.
• 18 bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until golden.
• 19 make a glaze with the vanilla, powdered sugar and the tablespoon of milk.
• 20 frost each cookie.

Pesto

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 bunch fresh basil (~3 c loosely packed, or as much as you have)
• 3 garlic cloves (more to taste...)
• 1/2 cup pine nuts (more or less to taste or what you have on hand. can substitute walnuts or almonds)
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 -3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (can use more or less & or or use some wine)

Recipe

• 1 finely dice basil leaves with a sharp knife or dice using food processor.
• 2 crush nuts either with knife or food processor.
• 3 repeat w/garlic and combine all ingredients.
• 4 pour some olive oil over the top and mix well.

Hungarian Lemon Butter Cake

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 1/4 lb butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 lemon, juice of
• 1 grated fresh lemon rind
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons flour

Recipe

• 1 sift flour.
• 2 measure.
• 3 sift 3 times.
• 4 cream butter and sugar till light.
• 5 add egg yolks one at time.
• 6 add lemon juice and rind.
• 7 add flour small amount at time, beating after each addition.
• 8 add salt.
• 9 add stiffly beaten egg whites, but before folding in, sift the baking powder on top of the whites, then gently fold in the whites.
• 10 turn into greased pan (8x8x2 inches).
• 11 sprinkle nuts over cake.
• 12 bake in moderate oven (375°f) 50 minutes or until done.
• 13 sift confectioners' sugar over cut when cold.
• 14 put sugar, water, lemon juice and flour together in saucepan.
• 15 heat to boiling, stirring constantly till a little thickened.
• 16 pour sauce over cut piece cake.

Mimi's Cafe Buttermilk Spice Muffins

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter or 1/2 cup unsalted margarine
• 3 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 fluid ounces buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon buttermilk, additional
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Recipe

• 1 heat oven to 375°f.
• 2 in a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter together with an electric mixer.
• 3 when they are thoroughly mixed, add the eggs and beat for 1 more minute.
• 4 sift the flour into a separate bowl, together with the baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon.
• 5 add the flour and buttermilk to the first mixture, and mix at low speed until smooth.
• 6 to avoid lumps in the batter, add the wet and dry ingredients alternately, in small amounts.
• 7 make the nut topping by combining all the nut topping ingredients together in a small bowl.
• 8 grease muffin tins with additional butter or margarine, or use paper or foil baking cups.
• 9 fill each cup ¾ full of batter.
• 10 add a full rounded tablespoon of the nut topping on top of the batter in each cup.
• 11 bake immediately, or the topping will sink to the bottom of the muffins, and then you will be mad at yourself – and we don’t want that to happen, do we?.
• 12 bake at 375°f for 20 to 25 minutes until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out dry.
• 13 (home ovens’ heat differently from mimi’s commercial ovens, and so you may need to adjust the temperature and/or the baking time accordingly).
• 14 this recipe yields 12 standard-size muffins, or 6 jumbo-size muffins.
• 15 if you are using jumbo muffin tins, reduce the oven temperature by 25° and increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes.