Rugelach

Dough:
1 stick of unsalted butter
4oz of cream cheese
1 cup of all purpose or pastry flour

Quick and easy fillings:
can of almond paste
can of poppy seed filling
favorite jam or preserves

Glaze:
1 teaspoon of H2O
egg
turbanado sugar
crushed walnuts (optional)

In a food processor or by hand, mix the dough thoroughly and place in the fridge, to harden, for about an hour. Lightly flour a smooth flat surface, divide the cold dough into two pieces for easier handling. With a rolling pin, flatten the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness. Trim the edges so that you have a square piece of dough. For easier cutting, try a pizza cutter, once you have your square, you will want to cut out long triangular shaped strips so that when you roll the dough they will look like mini crescent rolls. Spread a thin, even layer of filling and roll dough. Lay rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment. The glaze is really just an egg wash with sugar crystals sprinkled over. For an added taste you can include crushed walnuts to the filling or ground walnuts sprinkled with the sugar.

Place in a pre-heated oven, set to 350 degrees F. Should bake for about 25-30 minutes or until a light golden brown. Let cool and enjoy with a hot mug of tea.

This is a Jewish cookie recipe with a flare. I love pastries with poppy seed filling but traditional rugelach is made with apricot jam or a walnut filling...still good, but I like this one better.

The easiest spaghetti sauce

2 cans of whole stewed tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced and sautéed in olive oil
fresh basil

Easy one pot option:
Sautee onion in a deep non-stick wok, when the onions have reached a nice translucent, soft look add tomato liquid. When sauce is done add precooked pasta and heat till warmed. Add basil one minute before serving. Otherwise, fry onions and proceed to the next step.

After opening the cans of tomatoes drain the liquid into the sauce pan. To eliminate the slight bitter taste tomato seeds have, cut the tomatoes lengthwise and de-seed. Coarsely dice the flesh and place in the sauce pan. Let the liquid simmer in a pot till it condenses down add pepper and salt to taste.

When pasta is cooked and drained, add basil to sauce cooking for no longer than one minute. Serve sauce over pasta or mixed in.

If you want to avoid pasta, try baking spaghetti squash. Cut the squash in half and bake according to directions. Once it's done, scoop the stringy, noodle like insides onto a plate and serve with your homemade sauce. Its tasty and a great change from your normal spaghetti dish.
To accent this sauce and change or intensify the flavor add:
Oregano
Thyme
Red Pepper Flakes
Dried Italian Seasonings
soffritto made from carrots, onions, celery, garlic, olive oil, and seasonings
olives (canned black or fancy ones)

Protein options include:
Shrimp (low on fat and calories)
ground beef (aim for 98% lean or the sauce will be greasy)
vegetable protein (also low in fat and calories, and makes a nice vegetarian option)

Gooey Butter Cake

Cake:
1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside.

Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well.

Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point!

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful little cakes are very, very rich, and a little will go a long way-even for piggies like me!

I'm not sure where this recipe comes from but it's a favorite in my family. I recently had my sister send the recipe to me and I made it myself for the first time. I even left in the piggy comment at the end, which probably originates with one of my aunts. It's more of a snack bar than a cake. Even though it's rich and sweet, we sometimes have it as a breakfast pastry. It probably works better as a dessert, though, for most people.

Orange Honey Cupcakes

Original Recipe from:
Greetings from the Knit Cafe
By: Suzan Mischer
Recipe by:Julie Stark

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of oatmeal (stove top, not instant)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
2/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
zest from the orange
1/4 cup of honey
5 1/2 tablespoons butter melted

Icing:
1-1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
bit of zest from the orange
tablespoon of orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan or line with papers.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and stir with a fork. Add in the juice, zest, honey, eggs, and butter. Continue mixing batter until all ingredients are well integrated into the batter. Fill each cup of the muffin tin with batter till 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or light golden.

To make icing:
Combine 1 cup of powdered sugar, zest, and juice until a smooth glaze. If too wet, add more sugar. If too dry, add a very small amount of juice or water. Once the glaze is a smooth spreadable consistency, drizzle over the muffins while still warm and hurry up and eat!!!

Story:
My mom bought this knitting book for me as a Christmas present. I love the projects, suggestions and recipes. Hmmmmmm......What will your next present be? These muffins/cupcakes are really good, but I like pretending that I'm being healthy by using whole wheat pastry flour instead of the all-purpose. It gives the muffins more texture and better color, but that is merely my opinion, not fact. If you prefer, just use two cups of all-purpose. Be warned even sticking these treats in the freezer didn't stop me from eating them! Though they really do taste better when not frozen.

Dominik's Austrian Potato Salad

This is a very simple recipe and I LOVE it! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

1 kg potatoes
1 - 2 onions
3 - 4 tablespoons oil
2 - 3 tablespoons vinegar
salt
pepper
Water
cook the potatoes for about 20 minutes, pour cold water over them, peel
them, cut them in slices.
Mix all the other ingredients in the meantime.
Drop all potato slices into the marinade and give it a rest time in the
fridge.
Taste it.
If you feel that it's too much vinegar, add some sugar, if it's not a
little spicy add more salt and pepper, but that’s always a question of
personal preference.

Story:
This recipe was given to me by my friend, Dominik, who was an exchange student from Austria and practiced with the Illini Judo club. He was always cooking something at judo gatherings and this is the potato salad he made at the last gathering of the year. Usually not a fan of potato salad because of the mayonnaise, this salad is perfect! Thanks Dominik! XXX

Chicken Korma

Chicken Korma
Ingredients
1) 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2) 1 onion (chopped)
3) 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
4) ½ teaspoon julienned ginger (I use ground)
5) 1 teaspoon salt
6) 1 teaspoon turmeric
7) 1 teaspoon ground cumin
8) 1 pound chicken (cooked)
9) 1 cup water
10) 1 ½ teaspoons garam masala (or to taste)
11) ¼ pint heavy whipping cream
12) Finely chopped coriander

Directions
Step 1: Heat oil in a large deep frying pan adding chopped onions and fry for 4 to 5 minutes on a medium heat until onions are slightly brown.

Step 2: Add garlic and ginger and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

Step 3: Add salt, turmeric, and cumin. Turn up the heat and cook for an additional 1 minute. It is crucial that the spices are well mixed in the pan with the chicken at this point to ensure that the chicken cooks with texture and flavor.

Step 4: Add chicken.

Step 5: After the chicken has been well mixed with the spices add water to mixture.

Step 6: Turn down heat slightly then add garam masala, and the cream and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Step 7: Sprinkle top with Corriander if desired

Sean’s note: I find that the sauce is a little thin so I add some flour to the water to help thicken it up a little.

Bola (Rum Punch Party Time Drink)

Mix 1/4 kg sugar and 1.5l of water; bring to boil so that sugar dissolves, let it cool down a bit. Pour the mixture in a big, stylish looking bowl. Squeeze in juice of 4 oranges and 4 lemons. Add 1/2 l of rum.

Put the bowl into the freezer and let it cool down completely. Add more sugar if needed, along with generous amounts of vanilla sugar, clove, nutmeg and other assorted spices and exotic fruits you happen to have handy.

Use a big laddle to serve bola in party cups... A good party will require more than one bowl of bola!