Fajitas Marinade

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup (Lea & Perrins) Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

6 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

12 large cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion

2 medium green bell peppers, seeded and diced

2 tomatoes

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Whisk all the ingredients together in a large bowl. You may marinade up to 3 pounds of meat, poultry, or assorted non-leafy vegetables in this mixture.

From Sacramental Magic in a Small Town Cafe by Br. Peter Reinhart

Poppy Seed Cake

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups butter (use best quality, like Amish butter)

1 1/2 cups buttermilk or milk

3 eggs

3 cups unbleached flour

1/4 teaspoon powdered vitamin C (if available)

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup poppy seeds

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Prepare bundt pan by buttering the surface and then lightly flouring it. Do not use Pam or any other baking spray as the butter/flour combo makes the crust taste infinitely better!!!

3. Thoroughly cream the butter and the sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, then beat until the batter becomes light colored and fluffy.

4. Sift the flour, then measure. Add the salt and the baking powder to the flour and then sift again. Stir the poppy seeds into this dry mix..

5. Add the flour and the milk alternately to the mixture starting off with the flour and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla and blend it into the batter.

6. Pour the batter into prepared tube pan. Bake in preheated over for 1 hour. Remove from oven. After 10 minutes remove the cake from the pan and cool on wire rack.

This cake benefits from using the best ingredients. King Arthur's flour, Watkin's vanilla, Amish butter rolls...

Adapted from Get Your Buns in Here by Laurel Wicks

Apple Crisp

Serves Six

8 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed in

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 pound butter, in small pieces

1 pint heavy cream or vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 1 1/2 quart baking dish, spread the apples in it, and sprinkle the water on top. Combine the flour, sugar, cinnnamon, and salt in a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Spread evenly over the apples. Bake for about 30 minutes or until crust is browned. Serve hot with heavy cream or ice cream.

From the Fanny Farmer Cookbook

Egg Nog

12 eggs, separated

2 cups of superfine sugar

3 pints light cream

1 pint heavy cream

nutmeg

(2 pints liquor if desired)

Beat egg yolks and sugar together until thick. Slowly stir in creams, and liquor if using. Refrigerate until chilled and pour in punch bowl. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold gently into egg nog. Serve in small cups with fresh ground nutmeg on top.

Susan Meakem's Salsa

1 can black beans

1 can niblet corn

1 can chopped green chiles

3 chopped tomatoes

1 can chopped black olives

1 bunch of scallions, chopped

3 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

Seasoned salt, garlic salt & pepper to taste

Drain black beans and niblet corn. Mix all together. Store in refrigerator. This keeps for several days. Serve with tortilla chips.

Peach Soup

Makes 6 Servings

3 pounds (12 - 15) unpeeled ripe peaches

2 Tablespoons mild flavor honey

3 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

2 cups plain yogurt

1 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Set aside 4 of the peaches. Remove the pits from the remaining peaches and puree in a blender or food processor along with the honey and lemon juice. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the yogurt, orange juice, vanilla, and spices. Slice the remaining peaches and add to the soup. Chill until ready to serve. The soup will keep a few days in the refrigerator.

From Mediterranean Light by Martha Rose Shulman

Chocolate Decadence

1 pound dark sweet chocolate

5 ounces sweet butter

4 large eggs

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon flour

2 cups whipping cream

1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

chocolate curls made from one-quarter pound dark sweet chocolate

3 ounces fresh or frozen raspberries

1. Turn oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Line bottom of a cake pan with parchment paper ( or butter flour a round of waxed paper)

3. In the top of a double boiler, melt together 1 pound of good quality chocolate and the butter. When chocolate and butter are melted and smooth, remove from heat.

4. Whisking all the while, place four eggs and one Tablespoon sugar in the top of a double boiler or bain marie (putting a large mixing bowl in a pan of gently bubbling water on top of the stove) until the sugar dissolves and the mixture darkens and becomes barely warm to the touch. Acting quickly, remove the eggs from the heat and beat at the highest speed of an electric mixer until the eggs reach their potential treble volume and are the consistency of lightly whipped cream (five to ten minutes).

5. Remove the mixer. Fold in one Tablespoon of flour. do this very, very gently...now mix one third of the egg mixture into the resting chocolate.

6. Once the egg and rested chocolate are carefully combined, gently fold the chocolate mixture into the remaining whipped eggs. When no longer marbled, pour uncooked Chocolate Decadence into its prepared pan. Tap the pan lightly on the table and place it into the preheated oven.

7. Remove the pan from the oven after 15 minutes. The Decadence will be soft in the center and crusty on the top. When it has cooled, place the cake, while still in its pan, into the freezer for at least a good nights rest. It can be frozen for up to a month.

8. On the chosen day, whip two cups of heavy cream with one Tablespoon powdered sugar and one teaspoon of vanilla.

9. Make chocolate curles from 1/4 pound of the same chocolate using a potato peeler. Have the chocolate slightly above room temperature.

10. Puree and strain eight ounces of fresh or frozen raspberries. Put in bowl.

11. Remove the Chocolate Decadence from th freezer and from its pan by momentarily spinning the pan over high heat. Turn the cake out onto a flat platter. Remove the parchment paper. Cover the Decadence with 2/3's of the whipped cream. Pile the chocolate curls high in the center. Refrigerate, removing from fridge 15 minutes before serving. Serve with bowl of raspberry puree.

From Chocolate Decadence by Veronica di Rosa and Janice Feuer

Garlic Chicken with Garlic, Garlic

Serves 3-4

1 whole chicken, about 3 pounds

40 unpeeled garlic cloves

Salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup dry white wine

Rub inside and out of the chicken with split clove of garlic. Lightly salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place chicken on a roasting rack in a baking pan and reduce heat to 350 degrees F. Bake 20 minutes and then pour wine over chicken. Baste again in 10 minutes and again 10 minutes later. Roast a total of 1 hour.

Sauce:

1/2 cup canned Chicken Broth

1/2 cup whipping cream

The cooked garlic cloves

Put the chicken broth in a small saucepan and add the cream. As this is heating, squirt all the garlic cloves into the sauce, discarding the peel. Simmer for a few minutes. Blend with hand blender. Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper and enjoy the sauce on the chicken.

Recipe from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine by Jeff Smith

Greek Hamburgers

Makes 10 - 12 hamburgers

3 pounds hamburger, very lean

4 Tablespoons olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tablespoon)

1/4 cup red wine

1 Tablespoon oregano

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Fried onion for topping

Lettuce

Tomatoes, sliced

Mix ingredients together and form into hamburger patties. Fry or grill.

Recipe adapted from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine by Jeff Smith

Puree of White Bean Soup

Makes 6 Servings

4 cans of white beans (great northern, navy, or small white)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onions, chopped
1 leeks, white part only, washed and sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small potatoes, peeled and sliced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
salt
1/2 - 1 cup milk
freshly ground pepper
juice of 2 large lemons
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish

1. Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot or casserole and add the onion, leek, and 1 clove of the garlic. Saute until the onion is tender.
2. Add beans, remaining garlic, the potatoes, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 30 minutes. Add salt to taste and remove the bay leaf.

3. Puree the soup with hand blender until smooth. Stir in the milk. Thin out with more milk if desired. Heat through and add pepper to taste. Stir in the lemon juice, taste and adjust seasonings, and serve, topping each bowl with a generious sprinkling of parsley and a whole-wheat crouton. The soup will keep 4-5 days in refrigerator, before adding the lemon juice and parsley. It freezes well.

From Mediterranean Light: Delicious Recipes from the World's Healthiest Cuisine by Martha Rose Shulman