Eat Dessert First

Y is for Yemitas- Fiesta Sweets

mckatie — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 13:40:00 +0000

Yemitas- Fiesta Sweets

Ingredients

Yemitas- Fiesta Sweets

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 dozen egg yolks
1 ounce sweet sherry
Cinnamon-sugar mixture for coating

Procedure

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan, slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When the mixture comes to a boil, cover itand cook it over medium heat until the resulting syrup reaches the hard-ball stage (250º on a candy thermometer, or when a small amount of it, dropped into cold water, forms a ball that is rigid but still pliable.)

Beat the egg yolks very well, and continue beating, preferrably with a paddle-type wooden spoon, until all of the syrup is incorporated.

Put the syrup-egg yolk mixture to cook over a low flame, stirring with the wooden spoon until it thickens and you can see the bottom of the pan when the mixture is separated with the spoon. Remove from flame, add the sherry, and allow the mixture to cool.

Working on a cool, smooth surface, “knead” it a bit with a spatula until it has the thickness and texture of fudge. Shape it into balls the size of jumbo olives and roll them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Allow them to harden.

W is for White or Dark Chocolate Mousse from New Orleans

mckatie — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 17:21:00 +0000

White or Dark Chocolate Mousse from New Orleans

Ingredients

Kelsey’s Restaurant in Algiers

16 ounces white chocolate
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 eggs, separated
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup hot water
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 ounces sugar

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over low heat. It’s a good idea to stand over the chocolate while it is melting and stir it until it’s completely melted, then take it off the heat immediately.
Whip the cream and set aside. Pour the brandy and hot water slowly into a bowl with the egg yolks, whisking briskly as you go until completely mixed.
Whisk in the melted chocolate. Keep whisking even after the mixture is completely combined; this will help to cool the chocolate. Whip the egg whites and the sugar until peaking but not dry; add the vanilla to the egg whites and sugar as you beat them.
Fold the egg-white meringue into the chocolate mixture carefully with a wooden spoon.
Fold in the whipped cream. THIS IS THE MOST CRUCIAL PART OF THE RECIPE. The key to a great chocolate mousse is that you can’t incorporate hot melted chocolate into whipped cream. The chocolate mixture must be cool to the touch or the cream will break. Lightly blend the two mixtures until uniform.

Procedure

Chocolate Mousse:
For dark chocolate mousse, as was served at the Royal Orleans (and was considered to be the best chocolate mousse anyone had ever tasted), use the list of ingredients below and follow the same procedure as above, except using hot coffee instead of brandy, and whisking the vanilla into the egg yolk-chocolate mixture instead of into the whites.
12 ounces top-quality semi-sweet chocolate (the better the chocolate, the better the mousse)

1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup hot coffee
1/4 cup hot water
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar

This mousse is at its best cloudlike texture right after incorporating the whipped cream. But at Andrea’s, they pipe it into dish-shaped champagne glasses, sprinkle chocolate shavings and powdered sugar over the top, and refrigerate. This causes the mousse to set, which gives it a different, heavier texture.

T is for Tujague’s Pecan Pie from New Orleans

mckatie — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:16:00 +0000

Tujague’s Pecan Pie from New Orleans

Ingredients

Tujague’s Pecan Pie from New Orleans
by Christopher Hébert

1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup dark Karo syrup
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons Armagnac or other brandy
1-1/2 cups pecan halves

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a glass mixing bowl beat the eggs, blending in the sugar, syrup, butter, vanilla, salt, Armagnac andpecans. Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake 10 minutes. Lower the oven to 350 degrees and bake 30 minutes or until a wooden skewer or knife inserted into the pie comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Serves 6-8.
(Many thanks to Christopher Hébert for providing the recipe.)

S is for Spanish Apple Torte

mckatie — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 12:48:00 +0000

SPANISH APPLE TORTE

Ingredients

SPANISH APPLE TORTE

Crust:

1/4 pound butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cup sifted flour
dash salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder

Custard:

2 cup milk
1 lemon peel
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons butter

Topping:

1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cinammon

4 apples (cored, peeled, & sliced into about 1/4 inch wedges)
Apple, Apricot, or any jelly of choice.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Procedure

Cream sugar, and butter together. Add remaining ingredients, and mix until it forms a ball. Take the dough, and mold it into a springform pan,or pie tin. Place in cool place until ready to use.

Mix the lemon juice, cinammon, and sugar together. Add to the apples and stir to coat. Can be done ahead of time.

Place lemon peel into milk. Bring milk to boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes. In the mean time, mix together the egg yolks and sugar in a heavy sauce pan. When milk is done, slowly add it to the yolk mixture,stirring constantly over a low heat, then slowly mix in the flour. Continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and thick. Remove from heat. Add the butter, and mix slowly until melted.

Pour the custard into the crust. Place the apples on top to form a single or double layer. When complete, place the torte into a 350 F oven for about 1 hour. Remove and cool.

When cool, heat the jelly of choice, and dribble over the top of the apples. Allow the jelly to cool. Serve.

R is for Raisin Oatmeal Cookies

mckatie — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:11:00 +0000

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup butter
* 1 cups white sugar
* 1 cups brown sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon molasses or honey
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 cup chopped walnuts
* 2 cups quick cooking oats
* 2/3 cup raisins

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, molasses and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda. Gradually add to the cream mixture.
4. Stir in oatmeal, raisins, nuts and chocolate chips.
5. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until light brown.

Q is for ..

mckatie — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 12:43:00 +0000

Meltaway meringue cookies with chocolate chips and the option of adding nuts. Forget about them while they sit in the oven overnight.”
INGREDIENTS:
2 egg whites
2/3 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup salted peanuts (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2. In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat until whites form stiff peaks. Fold in the vanilla and chocolate chips. Add nuts if desired. Spoon onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Place the cookies into the preheated oven, shut the door and turn off the oven immediately. Let cookies sit in the turned off oven for 5 to 6 hours or overnight.

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 5 Hours
Ready In: 5 Hours 50 Minutes
Yields: 36 servings

P is for Pecan Pralines

mckatie — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:06:00 +0000

Pecan Pralines

3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup milk or half n half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup pecans

Procedure

Combine the sugar and milk and cook slowly in a heavy pot over a low flame until it reaches the soft ball stage (238 degrees on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat and add the butter, vanilla and pecans. Beat mixture with a wooden spoon until it is smooth and creamy. Drop by spoonsful onto waxed paper. If the candy does not harden within 10 minutes, it may be cooked some more.
Yield: Approximately one dozen

O is for …Omar’s Sweet Potato Pie

mckatie — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 23:51:00 +0000

Omar’s Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients

This is the recipe for homemade Sweet Potato Pie as prepared by:
Omar At The Market Place
1015 Decatur Street
New Orleans, LA
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Cookbook, copyright 1984.
3 cups cooked, peeled and mashed sweet potatoes
1 egg
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 – 3/4 cup cream
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
dash of salt
1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar

Procedure
Mix the potatoes with rotary beater until they are smooth. Then add the other ingredients to the potatoes and beat for 5 minutes. Pour filling into unbaked 9″ pie shell, bake for 40-45 minutes at 350-325. Can also be served with a favorite topping: hot rum sauce, ice cream or whipped cream.

I love this pie!!!

N is for …..No-bake Camping Cookies

mckatie — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:00:00 +0000

No-bake Camping Cookies

1/2 cup butter softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon coffee (from a cup- optional)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups rolled oats
confectioners’ sugar
Cream together butter or margarine, sugar, cocoa, coffee and vanilla. Add oats and mix well. Roll into 36 balls about 1 inch in diameter. Dip balls into confectioners’ sugar. Set on wax paper.

M is for Mailanderli

mckatie — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 13:20:00 +0000

Mailanderli

325* – 20 minutes

1 lb of butter

1 c white sugar

6 egg yolks

1 Tbles vanilla

5 c of flour

* may add lemon rind

Mix all the ingredients, chill , roll out for cookie cutters or make a roll and slice.