January, 2018
Anita’s Delicious and Easy Christmas Fruit Cake
Ingredients
1- 16 ounces Fruit Cake Mix
1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
3/4 cup walnut halves
5 eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 Tablespoon dark molasses
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup dark raisins
1/3 cup date, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup rum
Preparation
- Grease with butter 6 cavity mini loaf pan (great for individual Xmas gifts). Preheat oven to 250 grades Fahrenheit.
- Combine all fruits cake mix, dates, raisins and walnuts in a large bowl and pour rum over. Let them soak overnight and placed on your kitchen counter.
- Into another large bowl, beat together at medium speed eggs, both sugar and butter until well blended. Scrape bowl making sure all ingredients are incorporated. Add molasses and mix.
- In a large bowl sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves. Add slowly to egg mixture and beat for about 2 minutes in high speed until all ingredients are well combined. (Do not over mixed)
- Stir in fruits and nuts mixture.
- Spread mixture evenly into 6 greased mini loaf pan or any pan of your choice.
- Bake for about 1 1/2 hour or until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted into mini cakes comes out clean.
- Let it cool for about 20-25 minutes. Invert and serve. Enjoy!
Anita’s Mushroom, Green Onions and Cheese Omelet
A delicious breakfast or lunch! My daughter’s favorite omelet.
Ingredients
2 eggs
2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 baby Portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 green onions, chopped small (all green and white parts)
1 1/2 slices Muenster Cheese or Cheddar
Salt and Pepper TT (to taste)
Preparation
- In a small bowl beat eggs with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in skillet at medium-low heat.
- Stir in mushroom and sate until soft and tender for about 2 minutes. Incorporate green onions and cook until slightly soften.
- Pour in beaten eggs. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add cheese pieces. When cheese is starting to melt fold omelet in half.
- Cook till slightly crispy and golden brown on both sides.
- Ready to serve warm. Enjoy!
Anita’s Best Coffee Cinnamon Sour Cream Cake
Ingredients for the Cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated Sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup Sour Cream, room temperature
1 1/2 cup Cake flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Filling and Topping:
2 Tablespoon All-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tablespoon Cinnamon, ground
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup of Pecans, chopped small
2 Tablespoon butter, melted
Preparation
- Blend all ingredients together for the filling and topping. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease a 9×13 tube pan with butter.
- Cream butter and sugar until very fluffy for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating very well. Add sour cream. Stir all ingredients until creamy and very smooth.
- Use a large bowl and sift together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Incorporate slowly into the batter. Add vanilla and stir all.
- Spoon half of the batter into the greased pan and top with half of the filling. Spoon rest of the batter over and top with the rest of filling.
- Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
- Let cake cool and serve. Enjoy!
Anita’s Rigatoni Pasta with Meat Sauce
Ingredients
1 Pound Rigatoni
1 Pound ground Beef
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 Tablespoon Butter
1 Onion, small diced
4 tomatoes, small diced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh Basil leaves, cut in long thin strips
4 Sage leaves, cut in long thin strips
1/3 cup Pecorino Romano Cheese, grated
Preparation
- Prepare a large pot with water with a pinch of salt and set it at low heat.
- Set at medium heat a saucepan with olive oil and add ground meat. Brown meat for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add chopped garlic and diced onions. Cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add salt, pepper, ground cinnamon, dried oregano, and nutmeg.
- Pour white wine to deglaze the pan and add tomatoes. Stir and let it simmer at low heat for 45 minutes to an hour.
- Higher the heat under salted water pot and let it boil. Add dried pasta and cook until al dente.
- Drop cooked Rigatoni into the meat sauce, add butter and half of fresh basil and sage. Toss gently all together.
- Remove from heat and serve. Sprinkle over the top with rest of the fresh basil, and sage. Top it with grated Pecorino Romano, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Yum! Enjoy next to our homemade delicious bread ( see recipe).
Anita’s Creamiest and Smoky Eggplant Dip
Ingredients
2 medium size eggplants
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 Tablespoon Tahini (sesame paste)
1 teaspoon salt
Preparation
- Place whole unpeeled eggplant over a medium heat gas flame .
- Using tongs utensils turn eggplant on each side till skin is totally blistered and eggplant are soft from the inside.
- Soak eggplants in cold water for about 8 to 10 minutes to cool.
- Remove from water and drain completely.
- Peel eggplants and place in a food processor (if you prefer it creamy),or for more chunky texture: you can make it by hand.
- Pour tahini, lemon juice and garlic over eggplants and seasoned with salt. Process until creamy and all well combined.
- Serve with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Garnish with parsley and make a rose out of the skin of a tomato to place in the center. Enjoy!
Anita’s Simple Tomato, Cucumber, Avocado Salad
Ingredients
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2-3 Persian cucumbers, diced
1 avocado, diced
3 Tablespoons fresh basil, long thin strips
1 Tablespoon dried mint
3 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
Preparation
- Place cherry tomatoes, diced cucumbers and avocados into a bowl.
- Whisk together extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, and pomegranate molasses. Add salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried mint and mix all together.
- Pour over salad and toss gently. Stack leaves of basil and roll them tightly, then slice them perpendicular to the roll. Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves thin strips. Can be refrigerated one hour before serving. Enjoy!
Anita’s Best Bundt Pan Rotisserie Chicken
Super crispy skin, tender and juicy. Baked in your oven. You’ll love it!
Ingredients
3 large carrots, quartered
1 large onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 large potatoes, quartered
1 cup butternut squash, quartered
2 Tablespoon dried basil
2 Tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped
2 Tablespoon dried oregano
juice of 2 lemons
4 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon finely ground pepper
2 Tablespoon balsamic glaze
1/4 cup white wine
2 Tablespoon Yellow mustard
1 Tablespoon butter
Preparation
- Cover the center hole of a large Bundt cake pan with foil and place Bundt cake pan over a large baking pan with foil.
- Preheat oven to 375 grades Fahrenheit.
- Put lemon juice, fresh garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, pepper, mustard, dried herbs, and white wine in a re-sealable plastic bag. Shake all to combine and drop in chicken to coat evenly. Place in refrigerator for at least 4 to 5 hours or overnight.
- Arrange potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, onions and sage leaves in the bowl of a Bundt cake pan and place other half of veggies on the baking tray with foil around Bundt cake pan. Drizzle all onions, potatoes carrots and sage with olive oil. Seasoned with salt and pepper.
- Remove chicken from the fridge and place chicken in the center of the Bundt cake pan, breast side up. Pour juices from the marinade over vegetables all around inside Bundt cake pan.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and rub butter over the skin. Place the chicken in the middle rack of the oven.
- Roast chicken for about 55 to 60 minutes uncovered.
- Higher the temperature of oven to 425 grades Fahrenheit.
- Remove chicken from oven and drizzle balsamic glaze over the skin. Roast chicken for another 30 to 35 minutes until skin is crispy, golden all around, veggies are fork tender and chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken from oven and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Delicious, juicy, tender chicken with roasted vegetables to enjoy next to rice or salad. Don’t forget to use the drippings from the pan.Yum!
Anita’s Best Organic Fig Jam
Cut out your Fresh Organic Figs and make this rustic, chunky without pectin or refined sugars delicious Jam Yum!
Ingredients:
12 ripe figs (cut in medium size pieces)
8 unripe figs (cut in medium size pieces)
2 cups granulated sugar
juice of half lemon
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
6 pieces Gum Mastic (pulverized)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Preparation:
- Wash, and rinse figs under cool water. Place 1 cup of granulated sugar in a large glass bowl. Add cut figs and toss well until they are completely coated with the sugar. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours covered with plastic wrap.
- Remove figs from the fridge and transfer sugar coated figs into a medium non-stick saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring mixture to a boil. Keep stirring for about three to four minutes.
- Remove from heat and place figs back into the large glass bowl. Let them cool completely and refrigerate again covered with plastic wrap for at least 4 to 6 hours for figs to start releasing their natural sugar and starches.
- Take out figs from refrigerator, strain and put mixture back into the saucepan at medium heat. Stirring constantly until mixture start boiling. Add Gum Mastic, lower heat and keep stirring until mixture thickened for about 10-12 minutes. Note: Gum mastic acts like a natural thickener.
- Add the rest of the sugar, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice and continue to stir for about 10 more minutes or until mixture has reached a golden shiny brown color and has thickened but still smooth, and spreadable. Add vanilla and mix well with a rubber heat resistant spatula.
- Remove from heat and transfer figs jam to a glass or two well sterilized jars and let it cool completely before placing it into the refrigerator.
- Serve with best cheeses, and butter of your choices on a French baguette bread, spread on a delicious slice of pound cake(see my pound cake recipe), add it to your salad dressings or just have it straight from the jar like myself. Jam Yum!
