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*Holiday*
*Recipes*
*Contest*
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And the Winners are:
#1 The Best Noodle Kugel #1
Submitted by EyeballAndChain
1 lb. egg broad noodles
1/2 lb. unsalted sweet butter, room temperature
1/2 lb. Philadelphia brand cream cheese
1 pint sour cream
5 eggs, separated
1/2 cup white sugar
Sunmaid raisins, approximately 1-2 cups (personal preference)
Cinnamon (amount, again, personal preference)
Brown sugar (approximately 1/2 cup, more or less by personal
preference)
Fruit preserves, approximately 16-20 oz. (good quality,
strawberry, black raspberry or blueberry)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream together the sour cream and cream
cheese. Set aside.
Boil noodles in lightly salted water according to package
instructions (slightly al dente) and drain. Put butter in
a large mixing bowl and cover with the hot drained noodles
allowing the butter to melt. Add the cream cheese and sour
cream mixture to the noodle and melted butter. Fold gently,
being careful not to break up the noodles.
Beat egg yolks lightly with sugar (until light yellow and
ribbony) and fold gently into the noodle mixture, along with
the raisins.
Whip egg whites until stiff and fold into the noodle mixture.
Pour into an ungreased casserole baking dish (we use a round
10-12 inch oven-proof soufflé baking dish ). Sprinkle
cinnamon and brown sugar all over the top.
Bake 1 hour, at between 325-350 degrees (depending on the
accuracy of your oven, and make sure the top isn't browning
too fast).
Allow the kugel to cool for just a little while before bringing
to the table.
Heat up the fruit preserves (just to loosen them up a bit)
and pour half (about 8-10 oz.) over the top of the kugel.
Serve the kugel in wedges, like pieces of cake, out of the
casserole dish. Serve the rest of the fruit preserves in a
sauceboat on the side of the casserole dish.
This kugel can qualify for any of the 3 categories -- as
a main dish, side dish, or dessert. We tend to serve it as
a side dish on holiday party buffet tables with a big slab
of meat (beef or ham) or poultry (turkey or goose), and a
selection of vegetable side dishes and salads to round out
the party.
Judge's comments:
TOO good! This one is EXCELLENT!
My wife is Jewish. And kugel is a staple of Jewish cuisine.
My wife makes an excellent kugel. But even she raved about
this one!
Highly recommended by myself and my wife as a side dish
or dessert!
Taste: Even without the addition of jams/preserves, this
dish is EXCELLENT!
Creativity: Hey, it's KUGEL! It looks good in the pan or
on the plate because of what it is!
Appearance: It's bland alone. But the addition of jams/preserves
adds color to the presentation.
Ease: Can ya boil noodles and mix eggs with sugar? 'nuff
said!
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#2 Sour Creme Coffee Cake #2
Submitted by Trybe
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Cinnamon
Walnuts (optional)
1/4 lb melted butter
1 egg
1 cup sour creme
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven 350degrees -- 40 minutes baking time
Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Mix wet ingredients,
fold into dry. Kneed well. Pour half of the batter into greased/floured
tube pan. Sprinkle generous amounts of cinnamon and walnuts
(optional) on top of batter. Cover with remaining batter.
Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake 40 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Serve warm
Judge's comments:
This recipe is a keeper. I have been
playing with it, and the more I try different things the
more I love this recipe.
Following the recipe as given, the
batter will look a little dry. Althought I was concerned,
I stayed true to the recipe and didn't add any liquid not
called for in the recipe.
The batter will be a little on the
stiff side. But that is an advantage if you decide to add
the walnuts, which I did. The batter is stiff enough to
hold the walnuts in place at the center of the cake. They
don't sink to the bottom of the cake pan.
A note on the walnuts: If you decide
to add nuts to the center of the cake, sprinkle the cinnamon
first THEN the walnuts. That way, when you turn the cake
right side up, the cinnamon will look like it is sitting
on a bed of walnuts, and I think this gives it a more attractive
appearance
The finished cake was a lovely golden
brown on top. Since the recipe called for a tube pan, I
used a bundt pan. When I flipped the cake over to remove
it from the pan, I got a wonderful surprise. The actual
top of the cake was a beautful gingerbread brown. It looked
great in the bundt cake shape.
When cutting into the cake, there
was a nice little "crunch" as the cake gave way
to the knife. Surprisingly, the cake itself was moist. I
hadn't expected this because the batter was so stiff and
seemed a little too dry.
It is delicious. The tartness of
the sour cream, the sweetness of the sugar, the two layers
of crunch provided by the top crust and the walnuts, and
the warm aroma of the cinnamon make this cake smell like
the holidays.
It is a cake that I call a great
base cake. This recipe can be dressed up for any festive
occasion or made straight according to the recipe.
If you like a little looser batter,
add a 1/4 cup of egg nog and extend the baking time about
5 to 7 minutes.
In addition to the cinnamon and walnut
in the center of the cake, you can sprinkle in some brown
sugar. If you are inclined to serve ice cream with the coffee
cake, this would go well with any flavor, but especially
butter pecan or a butter brickle-type ice cream.
As a cook who loves to find recipes
that adapted to several different versions, I just love
this recipe and will be playing with it for some time to
come. I am going to try adding Bailey's Irish cream to it
next time.
As to coffee, I had this cake with
cinnamon hazelnut coffee - what a combination! It was heaven.
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#3 Pecan Tassies #3
Submitted by Ldybroker
1/2 c butter, softened
1 3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c all purpose flour
1 egg
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1 T butter , melted
1/2 c coarsely chopped pecans
1. For pastry, in a mixing bowl, beat the 1/2 c butter and
cream cheese till combined. Stir in the flour. . Press about
a walnut size of mixture, evenly into the bottom and up the
sides of mini muffin tins.
2. For pecan filling, drop a few crushed pecan pieces into
uncooked shells: In mixing bowl, beat egg, brown sugar and
the 1Tablespoon melted butter until combined. Spoon about
one teaspoon mixture into each shell.
Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes or until pastry is golden
brown and mixture is puffed. Cool slightly in pan, carefully
transfer to plate, and cool completely..
Makes apprx 24 treats.
Judge's comments:
This recipe is fun to make. The pastry
crust is exquisite with the filling making a wonderful marriage.
Warm or cold, these are wonderful!!
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And in no particular order, a few more entries: |
Mama's Cranberry Relish
Submitted by _Sheba_
2 cups raw cranberries
1 onion
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp horseradish (I like Tulkoff's, but be warned -
it is not bland!)
Put the whole cranberries and the onion in the food processor
and chop them. Watch carefully. They should be chunky, not
smooth. Stir in the sour cream, sugar and horseradish. Chill
until ready to serve.
This sounds terrible and looks rather like Pepto-Bismol,
but it is great! Can be frozen but submitter prefers it chilled
but not frozen.
Judge's
Comments:
Taste:
It became addicting after a couple of bites, once it sat
over night. The horseradish is a bit strong and could get
to be "too much" after awhile. I tried it on Triscuit
Crackers and on some leftover turkey. It goes GREAT with
turkey.
Creativity: I would have never thought to have onions and
horseradish with cranberries.
Appearance: The contestant is right, it looks like Pepto-Bismol
Ease: Very easy to make. Not many ingredients involved.
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Tresec's stuffed shells
Submitted by Tresec
1 box jumbo shells
1 lb of ground beef*
1 onion
2 cups mozzarella
1 cup sliced olives
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Cook shells until done. Drain and wash off. Set aside.
Brown beef and chopped onion till cooked, drain fat.
Combine in a bowl, meat mixture, 1 1/2 cups of the mozzarella,
olives and mushroom. (Don't worry ...it's supposed to be gooey)
Parsley and/or Oregano can be added for taste.
Stuff shells with mixture until all shells are filled, placing
them in a large casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining mixture,
if any, on top. Pour spaghetti sauce over shells. Sprinkle
remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top. Bake covered for 45-50
minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes after baking.
Serve with your favorite salad, garlic bread and a nice bottle
of wine.
*ground turkey or sausage can be substituted, but I have never
tried it with those. :)
Judge's comments:
Taste: The meat mixture would have
benefited from some fresh garlic and more cheese would be
a good addition.
Creativity: The olives were a creative aspect, imo.
Appearance: Cooked up bubbly and appears very appetizing.
The aroma is nice too.
Ease: The ingredients are usually things folks have and
not expensive. Very easy to put together.
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Justin's Smashed Potato's
Submitted by Buckey
Enough potato's for your needs
Butter or margarine
Salt & pepper to taste
Cream or milk
Sour cream
Wash taters, leave the skins on.
Boil till tender but not coming apart
Add cream ( milk) & butter
Mash but not to a creamy texture. You want the large pieces...
Plate up...
Garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro or dill
Sour cream & diced scallons can be added as well as cheese...
You can also smother with fresh green beans
Judge's comments:
When I read this recipe my first
reaction was Ho Hum.Having said that here I was very surprised
and have added it to my recipe collection.
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Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Submitted by Mingching
3-5 russet potatoes
1/2 C unsalted butter
5 large garlic cloves
1 chicken bouillon
Evaporated milk as needed
Sea salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
Nutmeg (optional)
Peel and place whole potatoes in cold water (2/3 filled
), along with garlic cloves, chicken bouillon, and 1 tsp.
salt in a 6 qt. Dutch Oven. Bring to a boil, covered and
then lower to medium heat for approximately 20-30 minutes.
When potatoes are fork tender, drain and return pot to dry
slightly over medium- low heat. ( reserve some of the cooking
liquid). Shake the pot to keep from sticking or burning. Start
mashing when dry enough with a hand masher, while still hot.
Add butter until almost melted, then add evaporated milk.
At this point you can decide what texture you desire. The
reserved cooking liquid can be used alittle at a time along
with the milk.
Salt and pepper to taste.
A pinch of nutmeg marries well with combined ingredients.
Enjoy!
Serves approximately 4-6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time:30 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Judge's comments:
Taste: Nice flavor with subtle taste
of garlic. Very enjoyable side with fried chicken
Creativity: The use of evaporated milk instead of regular
milk was very interesting
Appearance: Looks like normal mashed potatos. A sprinkle
of paprika adds a bit of interest
Ease: It's mashed potatos folks. How hard can it be :)
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Baked Beans
Submitted by TxTrkr98
4 cans Campbell's pork n beans,
1 large onion (an extra half if ya love em)
5/8 to 3/4 pound of dark brown sugar (Imperial brand)
1 can of mushrooms any size(bits n pieces acceptable)
1 large can of tomatoes (diced or whole, but ya gotta dice
the whole ones)
1lb of real smoked bacon strips
Put it all in a large baking dish,
Cover completely with bacon strips
Heat oven to 350, cook for 2.5 to 3 hours, let cool 10 minutes
and serve,
Excellent with just about anything.
This is the best baked beans you evah will prepare.
Judge's comments:
It was very good. The bacon topping
was a great touch. I would suggest cutting the brown sugar
in half and adding some molasses to replace the brown sugar
and also add 2 tablespoons of mustard but it's great as
it stands now.
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Chicken Breasts in Raspberry Sauce
Submitted by Platterkat
60ml olive oil (1/4 cup?)
60ml white wine (1/4 cup?)
30ml raspberry sauce (2 tablespoons?)
4 shallots, finely minced
2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
120ml cup vegetable or chicken stock (1/2 cup?)
fresh raspberries to garnish, optional
4 boneless chicken breasts
Flour for dredging, seasoned with 1/2 tsp. each of salt,
pepper, paprika and cayenne pepper.
Sauté the dredged chicken in oil on medium for about
4 minutes each side. Remove. Deglaze the pan with white wine.
Add the raspberry sauce, shallots and mustard. Reduce by half.
Add the stock and reduce by half again. (The time it takes
to reduce gives it extra flavor.) Return the chicken breasts
for a few minuets to reheat. Adjust seasonings if necessary.
Serve sauce over chicken, and garnish with fresh raspberries.
Serve with steamed rice or pasta and a salad, or steamed vegetables.
Raspberry sauce is made with equal quantities of fresh raspberries,
white wine vinegar and white sugar. Mix, tip the bottle occasionally,
leave for a week. Shallots are similar to spring onions.
Judge's comments:
Taste: Sorry. I didn't approve of
the taste. The very name starts with "'Raspberry".
Yet, the taste of raspberries is but a 'hint' in the dish.
The onions (shallots) and the vinegar overwhelm this dish.
Appearance: I cut the chicken breasts into thirds (see pic)
for presentation over a bed of saffron rice. Very pretty
in this respect.
Creativity: A very unique approach to serving chicken. (needs
work, but very creative)
Overall judgement: Not difficult to prepare, but not a true
'raspberry' flavor. The vinegar/wine overwhelms all other
flavors.
Of note: I think that omitting both the wine and the vinegar
and using a mix of raspberries and sugars would work much
better in this recipe.
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Thanks and love and hugs
to all the judges for their work:
- Bubba707
- Cinnaden
- imagi
- Patti
- SuzziQ
- Smorgas_of_Borg
Patti
& SuzzieQ
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Contest
Rules, Prizes and Judges
All prizes donated by Patti. Shipping arrangements
to be discussed.
Patti &
SuzzieQ
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