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This yummy desert is for rhubarb lovers  This crisp is tart and sweet—and absolutely delicious. The strawberries add sweetness, and the rhubarb gives it a wonderful tart flavor. Combining the flavors of these two fruits creates a delicious dessert that is easy to make. You can substitute your favorite nuts for hazelnuts. I am very partial to hazelnuts, but pecans or walnuts will be just as good. Serve it with ice cream, and you have a winner.  Toast the hazelnuts in a preheated oven at 375° for 10 to 15 minutes. Put the hot hazelnuts in a dish towel and rub them vigorously to remove as much black skin as possible. Not all the skin will come off, so return those nuts to the oven and bake for a while longer. Rub them again with a towel. Leaving some skin is ok. Chop the hazelnuts coarsely.
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A tasty delight with rich flavors that leaves everyone wanting more  This is another well-used recipe from my cake folder that comes from cooks.com. Several of my friends asked for the recipe, and I have used it many times. The cake takes 5 to 10 minutes to make and 50 minutes to bake. Getting Kirschwasser (you can always substitute it with Triple Sec) and marzipan is the most difficult thing to find. I get my marzipan at Cost Plus World Market, but Safeway and other grocery stores carry it, too. This cake is rich, sweet, and moist. The raspberry sauce adds a flavorful contrast to the sweetness. The cake keeps for several days and can be baked ahead of time. The raspberry sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days and is great over ice cream. In my recipe I use almond paste or extra fine baking marzipan.
This is a crowd-pleasing appetizer with great flavors In 1999, the "Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden" published a sweet little cookbook about seasonal recipes by the great chefs of Santa Cruz with an introduction by Deborah Madison, an alumna of UCSC. This book is a gem. My favorite recipe is baked goat cheese with herbs, garlic and olives. It is divine and everyone who ever tastes it loves it. It is great snack or appetizer, and is perfect for the upcoming holidays. I love the leftovers on crackers or good bread the next day. A chef named Forest Cook gets credit for this wonderful dish.  This dish can be varied according to taste. I omitted the rosemary from the recipe. I use a variety of olives, depending on what I have at the time. I also sprinkle some coarse sea salt over the dish. What I find important is a nice looking baking dish for presentation. It is important to let this dish cool down before serving. This spread is great the next day, sprinkled on salads, in sandwiches or with a cracker
 I am crazy about fresh herbs and love to use them in my cooking whenever possible. This spread accents some of my favorite herbs. One of them is dill. The flavors are divine and it is always a party pleaser. It is easy to make and doesn't cost a fortune. If you want to be decadent you can add crême fraiche or sour cream. To make a dip with raw vegetables, increase the amount of yogurt or add some milk if you want it to be more liquid. The photo is an example of lavash bread, my cream cheese dip, salmon, avocados, and lettuce rolled and cut into slices that I'm taking to a party. The idea for this spread comes from Germany where you can buy this kind of cheese spread in all sorts of different variations. The Turkish vender at the farmers market makes them with nuts and exotic spices.
These rolls can be filled with any ingredients you choose. I often use hummus instead of a cream cheese spread—or I make them with egg salad—or cheese with salami or ham. Roasted peppers, grated carrots, and chopped olives go well with hummus—and mayonnaise (or any other spread) will keep the rolls together. My friends have requested these rolls for years and they are easy to transport. They always make a satisfying and filling appetizer. 
These rolls are not difficult and you can do them in no time. The rolling part is a little tricky but since they are being cut into slices a little goof up is fine. The trick is to roll them tightly making sure you incorporate the ingredients by pushing them into the bread as you roll it. Years ago I used to be able to buy Armenian cracker bread at a local delicatessen. This bread is like a giant cracker. It is no longer available and I now use lavash bread which I buy at Trader Joe's. You can also find them at Whole Foods. There are six rectangular pieces to a package and it comes in a whole wheat version that I prefer. For this blog I used two rolls which makes about twenty 1/2 inch thick sandwiches. Spread the cream cheese evenly in a thin layer on the light side of the lavish bread. Put about four ounces of lox on top of the cheese spread. Add one half of an avocado thinly sliced over the salmon, add about 1/2 a cup of thinly sliced cucumbers and 1/4 a cup of thinly sliced red onions. Leaving 1/2 inch on the longer side of the bread with only the spread will make it easier to roll. Season with salt and pepper. Top with about 1 cup of lettuce and press everything down. Begin rolling the bread at the longer side (think sushi). Push the ingredients into the bread as you roll it. Wrap the roll in Saran wrap and store in the fridge for several hours. When ready to serve cut the roll into 1/2 inch pieces and arrange them on a platter. Decorate with cherry tomatoes and olives. I have made these many times using different ingredients. For an upcoming wedding I will make them with humus because the bride is lactose intolerant. |
WELCOME TO SUNNY COVE CHEFThank you for visiting my blog. My two passions are cooking and traveling. Traveling exposes me to a wide variety of food and experiences. I walk around cities looking for markets, restaurants, bakeries, shops, you name it, and if it is related to food you will find me there, tasting, smelling, talking to vendors, and having a great time. Categories
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