Cooking
"Some eat to live while others live to eat," goes an old saying. In support of both groups this page is for those of you that love to cook. It will contain recipes and stories having to do with the cooks of Heritage Harbour. We hope to serve you up a tasty treat.
Mom’s Brownies
Mary Peotter of Appleton, Wisconsin recently spent her winter months in not-so-warm Florida. While visiting her daughter Patti Sue and son-in-law Lee Bettes, she engaged in her favorite pastime of cooking and baking. A number of residents enjoyed her brownies and have asked for the recipe. She shares it here for anyone who is interested and says hello to her many new southern friends from her home up north.
Brownies
Mix together:
1 ¼ sticks margarine (set this out the night before so it is room temp)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Dash of salt
3 heaping TBL of cocoa
Add ¾ cup flour and pour mixture into greased 9” square pan. Sprinkle chopped walnuts (about a handful) on the top. Bake this at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (or 325 degrees if you use a Pyrex dish.) Check the pan and it may need 5 or 10 minutes more depending on the doneness of the center of the pan. Cool and frost.
Frosting
Mix together:
3-4 TBL of melted margarine
2 heaping TBL cocoa
3-4 TBL coffee or milk
Enough powdered sugar to make it thick enough to frost
White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Tart Dried Cherry and Zinfandel Sauce
Served at our February Potluck the recipe below was prepared by Blair Mastervick, Chef du Patisserie of Toronto, Canada. Blair has been turning out such mouthwatering dishes for 28 years has had her own upscale bakery and held prestigious pastry chef positions. Currently she teaches at George Brown College Chef School in Toronto, one of the most comprehensive facilities of its kind, and is currently vacationing in Heritage Harbour.
Ingredients: Serves 12
24 oz. (3 cups) whipping cream
10 oz. good quality white chocolate (Lindt)
Directions:
Melt together over medium heat stirring gently until it comes together as a smooth mixture.
Ingredients:
8 oz. (1 cup) whole milk
4 oz. (1/2 cup) sugar
2 large whole eggs
8 large egg yolks
1 loaf bread (French baguette) trim off the crust. Fresh bread is cut into ¼” slices and dried in 300F degree oven or use day old bread.
Directions:
Heat the milk, sugar and eggs together using a double boiler, do not boil or the eggs will cook. Combine with the warm white chocolate cream ganache above.
Butter a 9”x13” glass baking dish and layer the bread slices, pour the white chocolate custard mixture over the bread and let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes so the bread absorbs the liquid. OR, cut the bread into 1” cubes and mix with the white chocolate custard mixture in a bowl, rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes then spread evenly into the buttered baking dish. This also is a good method for making individual servings in ramekins.
Bake in a 275F degree oven covered with buttered foil for 45 minutes, remove foil and bake another 15-20 minutes at 350F degrees until it is a lovely golden brown.
When cool dress the top of the pudding with shaved white chocolate using another 4.5 oz. white chocolate bar this works perfectly.
Chef Tip: Use a cheese grater to shave the chocolate then set the chocolate in the freezer until the pudding is cool. Shaved chocolate will make static and the freezing will control it.
Tart Dried Cherry and Zinfandel Sauce
Ingredients:
10-12oz.dried cherries
16-20oz. Beringer White Zinfandel
½ cup sugar
Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove the cherries. Continue to cook the wine to reduce the amount down to 6oz. and it becomes nice and syrupy, this should take approximately 10-20 minutes. Return the cherries to the reduced wine syrup and serve at room temperature.
Chef Tip: Serve with the White Chocolate Bread Pudding. This also would be wonderful over French Vanilla or Dark Chocolate ice cream, Pound Cake or Angel Food Cake.
FISH AND CHICKEN SALAD
A Colombian Salad which is both healthy and pleasing to the eye.
1 pound of Tilapia (cut in bite pieces)
1 pound of chicken (cut in bite pieces)
4 red peppers (cut julienne style)
1 cup of black or green olives
1 head of lettuce (shredded)
1 sixteen ounce can of palm hearts (salad cut rounds)
3 hard boiled eggs (sliced)
¼ cup of chopped parsley
½ cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste
Season flour with salt and pepper and divide in half. Coat the fish with some of the flour,salt and pepper mixture and place in a skillet that has been coated with olive oil. Fry the fish until it turns white. Place cooked fish on a paper towel to absorb grease and set aside.
In another skillet, do the same with the chicken and fry until brown. Set aside on paper towel.
Arrange the lettuce in center of a large platter. Arrange the sliced eggs,palm hearts, olives, fish and chicken in groups around the lettuce which is in the center. Arrange the red peppers on top of the shredded lettuce. Sprinkle parsley around to garnish.
Serve with your favorite vinaigrette salad dressing.