Marinated Cucumber Salad (Fresh Pickles)

Ingredients:

2-3 cucumbers, peeled and sliced thin.
1 large sweet onion (Walla Walla, Vidalia, etc.), sliced thin in rings or
1 cup white vinegar (white wine, or distilled)
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar (or Splenda)
1 - 2 T dill weed

Instructions:

Combine cucumbers and onions in large metal bowl.  Combine vinegar, water, and sugar in a saucepan and boil until sugar is dissolved.  Pour over cucumbers and onions.  Stir in dill weed until combined.  Chill until cold, and serve. 

Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp (about 16 to 24)
• 1/3 cup clarified butter
• 4 tablespoons minced garlic
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh if possible
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Rinse shrimp and set aside. Heat butter in large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic 1 or 2 minutes or until softened but not browned. Add shrimp, green onions, wine and lemon juice; cook until shrimp are pink and firm, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Do not overcook. Add chopped parsley and salt and pepper before serving. Garnish with lemon slices and parsley sprigs if desired. Makes 8 first-course servings.

I removed the shrimp from the pan when they were done, and let the sauce cook down a bit, then poured it over the shrimp.

Carrabba's Style Herb Dip for bread/pasta

Besides their yummy entrees, one of my favorite things about Carrabba's restaurant is their bread, because even though it isn't the best bread ever, it is made so by the herb/olive oil dipping stuff they serve on a little plate along with it. I always order extra. Tonight I whipped up a concoction that is close enough to that herb stuff (it has a proper name, I'm just not urbane enough to know it) to make me happy. So here's what I did. This recipe makes a lot. A little goes a long way.

1 Tbsp. dried Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
6 or 7 grinds of black pepper
1 tsp. finely minced fresh garlic
olive oil (extra virgin is best)

Mix all ingredients except olive oil. Stir in enough olive oil to make a medium thick paste. Use some now with bread or on pasta; save the rest, covered, in the refrigerator for later.
-B-

All Bran Refrigerator Rolls

From realmomkitchen.com, with a couple of tweaks. An overnight favorite!

1 c. water
1/2 c. shortening (crisco)
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. sugar (for sweeter rolls use 3/4 c., but i don't for dinner rolls)
1 c. All Bran cereal original, or Fiber One (I use this), or Bran Buds
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. water, lukewarm
2 packages (5 t.) yeast, instant or bread machine type (SAF instant is what I use)
6 c. all purpose flour (can substitute a cup or two of whole wheat flour in there)

In microwave safe bowl, heat 1 c. water in microwave 1 minute, till almost boiling.
In the bowl of a stand mixer place the shortening, sugar, salt and All Bran cereal.
Pour hot water over all, stir to melt shortening, and allow to cool to lukewarm.
Next add eggs and remaining 1 cup of water to the bowl.
Stir to combine, then add the yeast and flour. Stir again till combined, then with dough hook knead for 2 minutes on speed "2". The dough should be soft and fairly sticky.
Grease a large bowl and transfer dough into it. Flip the dough in the bowl over so the top of it gets greased from the bottom of the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap (NOT a towel) and refrigerate overnight.
At least 2 hours before you need the rolls, get out the dough and either weigh out 2 oz. pieces or just divide it into 24-27 equal sized lumps. For knot shaped rolls, on a lightly floured surface roll each piece into a rope about 12" long and form into a loose knot. Let rise on greased baking sheet (I love air bake sheets), covered with a tea towel or more plastic wrap, for about 30 minutes while the oven preheats to 375, until puffy and not quite double in size. Be careful not to let them over-rise.
In the pre-heated oven bake for 12 minutes, or until light brown. Cool enough so they are not gummy inside before eating.

Napoleon Cremes (no bake)

This is from Betsy's college days, given to her in 1974 by her UC Santa Barbara friend, Karen Hillery, from Karen's mother in Pasadena, CA. It has been a favorite for years. Betsy usually doubles the recipe and uses a 9"x13" pan.

Crust:
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa (unsweetened)
1 t. vanilla
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 c. finely crushed graham crackers
1 c. flaked coconut

Filling:
1/2 c. butter
1/2 of a 3 3/4 oz. box of vanilla instant pudding
3 T. milk
2 c. sifted powdered sugar

Topping:
12 oz. (2 c.) chocolate chips
2 T. butter
(margarine can be used in place of all butter, but it may be saltier)

For crust:
Combine 1/2 c. butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. When it's melted and cooled (cool till the egg won't cook when added) stir in the egg and vanilla.
Cook, stirring, (I use a wire whisk - it tends to separate otherwise) until thickened - about 3 minutes. If not cooked long enough the crust will taste raw.
Blend in crumbs and coconut.
Press into buttered or lined 9" square pan. You can use a bigger pan for thinner crust. The bigger the pan, the trickier it is to spread the next 2 layers.
Chill if desired. (I do)

For filling:
Cream 1/2 c. butter till fluffy. Stir in milk, pudding mix and powdered sugar, alternating milk with dry stuff several times or the milk may over-thin the mixture.
Beat till light and fluffy.
Spread over crust.
Chill until firm.

For topping:
Melt chocolate chips and 2 T. butter in double boiler.
Spread over top of chilled filling a little at a time (I do it from the edges inward).
Cut while chocolate is still warmish, not set rock hard.
Chill and eat!

Pumpkin Cookies

These cookies have no eggs and taste pretty much just like the ones they sell at Macey's. Fiddle with the spices if desired.

1 1/3 c. butter, melted
3 c. sugar
3 c. canned pumpkin (1 lg. can)
1 1/2 t. vanilla
6 c. flour
3/4 t. salt
1 T. baking soda
1 T. baking powder
1 T. cinnamon
1/8 t. cloves
1/8 t. allspice
1/2 t. ginger
1/8 t. nutmeg
about 3/4 c. water
2 1/2 c. chocolate chips
2 c chopped pecans or walnuts (very optional)

Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl. Melt butter. Cool. Add to pumpkin. Add water. Mix into dry ingredients. If too thick, add water to desired consistency - the more water, the flatter the cookie. Really flat cookies are to be avoided. They should be puffy. Stir in chips (and nuts if desired). Drop by tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
note: if using m&m's, put them on cookies once they are on the sheet. Otherwise the colors bleed badly, making ugly cookies.

Easier Egg Lemon Sauce for Dolmathes

Ingredients:

1 C broth (from cooking dolmathes if desired)
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 eggs
Juice of 1 lemon
2 T water

Directions:

Heat the broth and thicken with a roux made from the butter and flour. In a separate bowl whip the eggs, lemon juice, and water thoroughly until frothy. Add the egg to the thickened stock, stirring constantly (you may want to add some stock to the eggs first to warm them). Heat but do not boil, stirring constantly, until thick. Salt and pepper to taste.