Charcuterie Board, by Diane

I made this cheese and charcuterie board over the holidays, and while it’s not exactly a recipe we thought it would be a good thing to post as it takes some thought to select the right ingredients and arrange them. I’ll list what I got below, but you want a mix of salty/sweet/spicy/soft/hard to satisfy all your taste buds. Ideally you want meats, cheeses, nuts, fruits (fresh or dried), and pickles or olives. My board has the following:

-Meats: mild hard salami sticks, spicy salami slices, salty prosciutto slices, and peppery capicola slices.

-Cheeses: a sharp rumrunner cheese that was a bit boozy and harder in texture, and a soft cows milk cheese with garlic and herbs.

-Crackers: plainer crackers such as flatbreads, and fruit and nut crackers made with brandy

-Salty items: pickles and olives (I forgot olives but would have included a few kinds)

-Sweet items: soft things like grapes, crunchy things like spiced pecans, and a jam (I used fig jam)



To assemble, you want to start with a pretty plate or platter (I didn’t have one so I used a baking tray covered in holiday tissue paper and topped with clear plastic wrap to separate the paper from the food). Then you want to spread out things that are of the same taste (salty/sweet/crunchy/soft) as well as color to make it more visually appealing. If you don’t have enough ingredients or your plater is too big you can make multiple piles of the same items just spaced out. Finally, for things like meats that are sliced you want to display them by folding in 1/2 then 1/2 again and make a ribbon, or swirl them into flower shapes (I did both). Don’t forget a fancy knife for your cheese!

Creamy Wild Mushroom Soup with Herbs, by Cheryl

Another recipe from Once Upon a Chef! This soup was fairly easy to make and was tasty! It was a good appetizer to our meal. If I made it again I would increase the number of mushrooms used in order to have more chopped ones in there. Otherwise each bite without them was good, but needed more oomph. That being said, it was a great compliment to the meal and warming on a cool night. Yum!


Ingredients:

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup chopped shallots
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup flour
1.5 lb mixed wild mushrooms (shitake, oyster, portobello), stemmed and roughly chopped
1/2 cp dry white wine
5 cups chicken broth
1.25 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp finely chopped fresh sage
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives, for garnish
croutons, optional

Directions:

1) In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute more, then add the mushrooms, 1/4 cup of wine, the chicken broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender.

2) Using a slotted spoon, remove about 2 large ladlefuls of the mushrooms and set aside. Using a handheld immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth.

3) Stir in the cream, the remaining 1/4 cup wine, the thyme, the sage, and the reserved mushrooms. Bring to a simmer, then taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. Ladle into bowls and top with the chives and croutons.

Mascarpone Cheesecake with Almond Crust, by Cheryl

This is my second time making this cheesecake and it is delicious. So creamy, light, and fluffy! Jon is a huge cheesecake fan and says that this is better than many cheesecakes that he has ordered for dessert at restaurants. Definitely a keeper recipe and I'll continue to make this as a sweet surprise for my hubby! Yum!

This recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis.

Ingredients:

CRUST:

1 cup slivered almonds
2/3 cup graham crackers crumbs
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

FILLING:

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
2 (8-ounce) packages mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature

Directions:

1) For the crust: preheat oven to 350.

2) Tightly wrap the outside of a 9-inch diameter springform pan with two 3/4 inch-high sides with three layers of heavy duty foil.

3) Finely grind the almonds, cracker crumbs, and sugar in a food processor. Add the butter and process until moist crumbs form. Press the almond mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan (not on the sides). Bake until crust is set and is beginning to brown, about 12 minutes.  Cool. Decrease temperature to 325.

4) For the filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar in a large bowl until smooth, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

5) Pour the cheese mixture over the crust in the pan. Place the springform pan in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake until the center of the cheesecake moves slightly when gently shaken, about 1 hour 5 minutes (the cake will become firm when cold). Transfer the cake to a rack; cool for one hour. Refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, at least 8 hours and up to two days.

6) We ate it plain, but you can add any toppings that you want!

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake, by Diane

This past week I've been sick with strep throat and couldn't swallow any solids. After a few days of tea and chicken soup broth, I needed something more substantial and since it was the holiday time I thought this was a good way of combining some ingredients I was seriously lacking towards the end of the week. It was so good that I think I'll bring it back next year, hopefully with no sore throat :)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (I picked the 100% pumpkin just to be healthier, but you can get the canned pumpkin pie mix now too which would have all your spices and sugars)

1/2 cup skim milk

1 cup light vanilla frozen yogurt

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 packets splenda

Optional: whipped cream on top!

Directions: Blend and enjoy!!