Ingredients1/2 lb smoked chicken
1/2 cup Craisins
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
4 oz Oregon bleu cheese
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
1 small red pepper, fine dice
1/2 head romaine lettuce
1/2 head red leaf lettuce
Rosemary sprigs
Cherry tomatoes
Dressing ingredients
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1 small shallot, peeled
1/2 egg
1-1/2 cups olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing: Place shallot, egg, vinegar and pomegranate
juice into a blender or food processor. Puree with two or three
short bursts until mixed. While running, slowly drizzle in oil
until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper as desired. This
recipe makes a little extra dressing--feel free to use on your
other favorite salads!
Salad: Cut each of the half heads of lettuce in half
again, keeping the two halves connected at the core. Cut the
lettuce in a fine chiffonade (thin strips or threads). Rinse
with cold water, drain and dry. In large bowl, mix lettuce with
chicken, apples, Craisins and desired amount of dressing. Toss
thoroughly.
Take a large serving platter and place a small glass directly
in the center. Carefully place the dressed salad around the
glass, stacking it as high as possible. Try to keep the glass
directly in the center. If you need to, use your hand to compact
the salad into a more uniform shape. Sprinkle the top of the
salad with the nuts, bleu cheese and diced peppers. Carefully
remove the glass, trying to keep the center free of salad.
Garnish in a festive fashion with cherry tomatoes and fresh
rosemary.
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Candy Cane Cake
You will need to make each element of the
cake before putting it all together.
White Chocolate Cake
2 oz white chocolate
2 egg whites
1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tbsp sifted cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter
Melt white chocolate in a small glass or metal
bowl over a pan of slow boiling water. Set aside to cool. Whip
butter with sugar until fluffy with an electric mixer. Add
vanilla and mix thoroughly. Sift together flour, baking power
and salt in another bowl. Mix egg and combine on slow speed. Add
half the milk mixture and combine on slow speed. Scrape the
bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Add the remaining dry and wet
ingredients separately. Do not over mix. Slowly add in
the melted white chocolate while the mixture is running. Place
the batter into one 9" buttered and floured cake pan. Bake in a
300° oven for 25-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out
clean. Place on a cooling rack.
Red Velvet Cake
1 cup buttermilk
1-1/4 cup sifted cake flour
3 tbsp red food coloring
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar
Mix vinegar and baking soda and let settle.
Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, scraping down the
sides of the bowl thoroughly. Add one egg at a time, allowing
each addition to mix completely before adding the next. Add
cocoa, salt and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Alternately beat
in flour and buttermilk. Fold in vinegar mixture at the end.
Pour batter into one 9" buttered and floured cake pan and bake
at 300° for 40-45 minutes. Rotate cake as necessary, cooking
until a cake tester can be removed clean.
Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting
1 lb cream cheese
1/2 lb unsalted butter
2 lb powdered sugar
Beat butter and cream cheese in an electric
mixer until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl well.
Begin adding the powered sugar on low speed, mixing thoroughly
before the next addition. Finish by adding the peppermint
extract and whipping for 10 minutes on high speed.
Peppermint Simple Syrup
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup peppermint schnapps
Pour boiling water over sugar and schnapps and
mix until sugar is dissolved. Cool completely.
Putting it all together
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candies
Mint leaves
Maraschino cherries
Cool both cake layers thoroughly and cut each
horizontally into 3 equal sized plates, for a total of six
layers. (If this seems daunting, try cutting each layer in half
to make two equal-sized plates for a total of four. A finished
four-layer cake will still look great.) Place a layer on a
serving platter and lightly brush with the peppermint simple
syrup. Frost, repeat for all layers and frost the outside of the
cake. Garnish with mint leaf and stemmed maraschino cherries for
a holly-like effect.
