How to cook sauerkraut

Ingredients

• 6 medium red potatoes, cubed


• 2 tablespoons canola oil


• 1 small onion, halved and sliced


• 1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch pieces


• 1 package (16 ounces) sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained


• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Homemade ice cream recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream


• 2 cups half-and-half cream


• 1 cup Sugar In The Raw

Directions

• Combine all ingredients, stirring to dissolve sugar completely. Fill cylinder of ice cream maker no more than two-thirds full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. (Refrigerate any remaining mixture until ready to freeze.) Serve immediately or store in covered containers in freezer.

Editor's Note: For raspberry or strawberry ice cream, substitute 2 cups fresh or frozen berries for 1 cup half-and-half. Puree berries in a blender or food processor; stir into the other ingredients before freezing.
Editor's Note: To prepare recipe without an ice cream maker, place a 13x9-in. dish in freezer until cold. Prepare cream mixture as directed; transfer to prepared dish. Freeze until edges of mixture begin to set, 20-30 minutes. Using a hand mixer, beat mixture until smooth. Freeze, covered, until firm, about 3 hours longer, beating again every 30 minutes.

Homemade bisquick

4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
½ cup melted butter (you can use shortening if you don’t want to refrigerate your mix if you prefer)

Directions:

1. In a stand mixer combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt until well mixed.
2. While mixer is going slowly pour melted butter into bowl to distribute evenly. If you are using shortening, cut in the shortening.


3. Allow to mix for 1 full minute.
4. You can mix this by hand, and I have, but I find using my stand mixer gives it a more even distribution- especially the butter. This will give you more consistent results in your baking.
5. Transfer to an airtight container like a mason jar or freezer bag and store in refrigerator or freezer for 3-4 weeks.

Use an equal amount of homemade Bisquick in place of the store brand in all your recipes.

Apple pie filling recipe

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine the sugars, flour and spices; set aside. In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Add sugar mixture; toss to coat.


• Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom crust; trim even with edge. Fill with apple mixture; dot with butter. Roll remaining crust to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in crust.


• Beat egg white until foamy; brush over crust. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover edges loosely with foil.


• Bake at 375° for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 20-25 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack.

Hash brown

Ingredients

• 4 medium floury potatoes, peeled (like Maris Piper or King Edwards)


• 1 medium onion


• 1 egg, beaten


• salt and pepper


• vegetable oil, for frying

Method

Coarsely grate the potatoes and onion into a clean tea towel and then squeeze out the excess liquid by twisting the towel. Place the mix in a large bowl.

Add the egg, a good couple of pinches of salt and freshly ground black pepper (you need to salt the mixture well otherwise the hash browns can be quite bland). Mix the ingredients well.

Heat a good glug of oil in a heavy based frying pan and when the oil is hot (but not smoking), add spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the pan and flatten into patties about 1cm/½in thick. Flip over once browned and crispy – about 2–3 minutes each side.

Fruitcake recipe

Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter a deep, 20cm round cake tin and line the base and sides with baking parchment. Put the whole hazelnuts, plus 1 tbsp each of the sugar and flour, into a food processor and whizz until the hazelnuts are as fine as you can get them.

Add the butter, remaining sugar and eggs to the processor, then tip in the vanilla, spice, ¼ tsp salt, remaining flour and baking powder. Whizz until smooth. Remove the blade, then stir in the grated courgettes, apple and dried fruit.

Spoon the mix into the tin, smooth the top, then scatter with the chopped hazelnuts, pressing them into the batter a little. Bake for 1 hr 10 mins (see tip, below), covering the top loosely with foil after 45 mins, until the cake is risen and golden. Cool in the tin for 20 mins, then remove and cool on a wire rack.

Chili mac and cheese

Ingredients

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 cups (8 ounces) macaroni

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

8 ounces lean ground beef

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

One 15-ounce can kidney beans, undrained

One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 ounces cream cheese

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar, plus extra for garnish

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 green onions, chopped

Corn chips, such as Tostitos Scoops, for serving

Artichoke recipes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs such as rosemary, oregano, thyme


• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil


• 2 cloves garlic, cut in half (no need to peel)


• 1 bay leaf


• 1 lemon, cut into wedges


• 2 to 4 large globe artichokes


• Salt

Method

1 Steep herbs in warm olive oil: Place chopped fresh herbs in a small bowl (not the bay leaf), cover with olive oil. Microwave on high heat for 30 seconds (or heat oil and herbs on the stovetop until warm). Let the herbs steep in the warm olive oil while you prepare the artichokes.

2 Prep the artichokes: Prepare a large pot with an inch of water at the bottom. Add the cut cloves of garlic and the bay leaf, and place a steamer rack in the pot.

To prepare the artichokes, have lemon wedges ready. If you want a nice presentation, use scissors to snip away the pointy tips of the artichoke leaves. As you trim the artichokes, rub the cut areas with juice from the lemon wedges to prevent the artichokes from turning brown from oxidation.

Use a vegetable peeler to cut away the thick outer layer of the artichoke stems. Trim the stems to 2 inches from the base of the artichoke. Cut off and discard the top 1/2 inch of the artichokes. Cut the artichokes in half.

Use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the fuzzy chokes and the small inner artichoke leaves. Rub lemon juice all over the inside and exposed cut areas of the artichokes.

3 Steam the artichokes: Heat the water in the large pot with a steamer rack on high. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium high and place the artichoke halves, cut side down on the steam rack.

Cover. Steam for 20 minutes (less or more, depending on the size of the artichokes), until you can easily pull off the outer leaves, and you can pierce the heart easily with a knife.

The artichokes can be just a tiny bit less cooked than would be typically perfect for steamed artichokes, as you will be cooking them further on the grill.

4 Grill the artichokes: Prepare your grill for direct, high heat. Use a pastry brush to brush the artichoke all over with the herb infused oil. Sprinkle all over with salt.

Place the artichoke halves cut-side-down on the grill grates. Cover, and grill for 5 to 10 minutes, until you have nice grill mark on the cut sides of the artichokes.

To serve, sprinkle the cut sides with more lemon juice. Serve alone or with mayonnaise, remoulade, or aioli.

Garbanzo bean recipes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil


• 4 cloves garlic, minced


• 1/2 onion, diced


• 1 (10 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained well

• 1 (12 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained


• 1/2 teaspoon cumin


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• Add all ingredients to list

Baked rice

Ingredients

• cooking spray


• 1 cup long-grain rice


• 1 tablespoon olive oil


• 1/4 cup diced carrot


• 1/4 cup diced celery

• 1/4 cup diced onion


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 2 cups chicken stock


• 1 bay leaf


• 1 pinch ground black pepper, or to taste


• Add all ingredients to list

Directions

1 h

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 2-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.


2. Spread long-grain rice into prepared casserole dish.


3. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir carrot, celery, and onion in hot oil until onion is soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir garlic into mixture; cook and stir 1 minute more. Increase heat to high; add chicken stock and bay leaf to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the mixture over the rice in the casserole dish. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.


4. Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and continue baking until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid, about 20 minutes more. Remove and discard bay leaf; season with black pepper. Fluff with a fork to serve.

Egg tart recipe

Ingredients

For the sweet pastry

• 165g/5¾oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting


• 25g/1oz ground almonds


• 120g/4¼oz chilled unsalted butter, cubed


• 55g/2oz caster sugar


• 1 free-range egg

For the custard filling

• 700ml/1¼ pint full-fat milk


• 7 free-range egg yolks


• 90g/3¼oz caster sugar


• freshly ground nutmeg

Method

To make the pastry, stir the flour and ground almonds together in a large bowl, then add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.

Break in the egg and work it into the mixture with your fingers, bringing it together to form a soft dough.

Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ball. Flatten with your fingers to a disc and wrap in cling film. Leave to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

Roll out the sweet pastry on a lightly floured work surface.

Using an 11cm/4½in fluted cutter, cut out twelve discs and line the muffin tray moulds with the pastry circle. The pastry should overlap the top of the moulds by a few millimetres, so that you can crimp the edges if you wish.

For the custard filling, warm the milk in a saucepan, and beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a separate bowl until pale and creamy.

Pour the milk onto the egg yolk mixture and stir well, creating little bubbles.

Transfer the custard mixture into a pouring jug with a lip, then fill each of the tart cases.

Sprinkle a small pinch of ground nutmeg into the middle of each tart.

Bake the tarts in the oven for about 25 minutes - you may need to turn the temperature down to 180C/350F/Gas 4 for the final 10 minutes. You are looking for a very slight dome on the custard, indicating that it is baked. If the custard domes too much this indicates that you have over-cooked the custard, it will have boiled, and will sink back down leaving a big dip. If this does happen you can help rescue it by removing the tarts from the oven immediately and placing the tin in cold water on a cold surface.

Cool in the tin for 30 minutes and then carefully remove from the moulds. The base of the tarts should be perfectly baked through, without having over-cooked the custard filling.

Easy paella recipe

Ingredients

Olive oil

Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…

Onion

Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…

Paprika

A spice that's central to Hungarian cuisine, paprika is made by drying a particular type of…

Risotto rice

To create an authentic creamy Italian risotto, the use of specialist rice is imperative. It…

Tomato

A member of the nightshade family (along with aubergines, peppers and chillies), tomatoes are in…

Lemon

Oval in shape, with a pronouced bulge on one end, lemons are one of the most versatile fruits…

Parsley

One of the most ubiquitous herbs in British cookery, parsley is also popular in European and…

Method

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add 1 chopped onion and soften for 5 mins.

Stir in 1 tsp hot smoked paprika, 1 tsp dried thyme and 300g paella or risotto rice, stir for 1 min, then splash in 3 tbsp sherry or white wine, if using.

Once it has evaporated, stir in a 400g can of chopped tomatoes with garlic and 900ml chicken stock.

Season and cook, uncovered, for about 15 mins, stirring now and again until rice is almost tender and still surrounded with some liquid.

Stir 400g frozen seafood mix into the pan and cover with a lid. Simmer for 5 mins, or until the seafood is cooked through and the rice is tender.

Squeeze over the juice of ½ lemon, scatter with a handful of flat-leaf parsley and serve with wedges from the remaining ½ lemon.

Denver omelet

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs


• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream


• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese


• 1 cup finely chopped fully cooked ham


• 1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper


• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion

Cream pie

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450°. Roll out dough to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Transfer crust to pie plate. Trim crust to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Line unpricked crust with a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice.


• Bake 8 minutes. Remove foil and weights; bake 5-7 minutes longer or until light brown. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven setting to 375°.


• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Transfer to crust; sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack; refrigerate until chilled.