Sara Kosuth: WHITE CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WITH A PECAN GINGERSNAP CRUST
Ingredients:
Crust:
Instructions:
For Filling:
When it's done, remove from oven and place on a rack until completely cool. Place in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
Top with whipped cream, caramelized pecans and caramel sauce! Enjoy!
Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups gingersnap crumbs (about 25-30 small cookies)
- 6 Tablespoons real butter, melted
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 3/4 cup ground pecans
- 3 8oz blocks cream cheese
- 3/4 cups canned pumpkin puree
- 8oz melted white chocolate (that's about 1 cup white chocolate chips, melted)
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- Whipped Cream
- Caramelized Pecans
- Caramel Sauce
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350. Using heavy duty foil, securely wrap the bottom and outside of your cheesecake pan. This will prevent leaks when using the water bath.
- Use a food processor to crush gingersnaps. Then do pecans.
- Combine gingersnaps, pecans, brown sugar, and butter and stir well to combine.
- Press into a 9" spring form pan. Evenly spread across the bottom of pan and up the sides about 1-1 1/2 inches.
For Filling:
- With an electric mixer beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Add pumpkin, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and melted white chocolate.
- Place cheesecake pan inside of a larger pan. The larger pan should be at least 2-3 inches in depth. Place in pre-heated oven.
- With a kettle or pitcher filled with hot water, pour water into the larger approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep.
- Bake for about 50 minutes or until set. The center should be a little jiggly.
When it's done, remove from oven and place on a rack until completely cool. Place in the fridge for at least 12 hours.
Top with whipped cream, caramelized pecans and caramel sauce! Enjoy!
Kelly Montgomery: Mom's Spaghetti and Homemade Sauce
(Great for vegetarians!)
-Serves 5-
Ingredients:
Instructions:
* If you want, you can add any other vegetable you would like, such as mushrooms or zucchini, sliced, to give the sauce more flavor and texture.
-Serves 5-
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup peeled baby carrots
- 4 small stalks celery, washed, ends cut off
- 1/4 medium sized onion (white or red)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 whole, dried, large bay leaf
- 2 (29 ounce) cans tomato sauce (non store brands are better)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 lb pasta
Instructions:
- In a food processor, blend carrots until they look like a puree.
- Add the celery and puree.
- Add the onion and puree.
- In a large sauce pot, heat the olive oil on low-medium heat. Add the pureed vegetables to the pot.
- Add a rounded teaspoon of minced garlic (you don’t have to be shy with the amount of garlic you add).
- Gently sauté the vegetables and garlic in the olive oil until it becomes fragrant (you will know when it is fragrant), approximately 3-4 minutes.
- Add the two cans of tomato sauce. Add the parsley, bay leaf, oregano, and basil.*
- Bring sauce to a gentile boil. Then turn the heat to low and cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not overcook because then the sauce will become bitter.
- After you have started simmering the sauce, cook the pasta (any kind you would like).
- Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta, and ENJOY!
* If you want, you can add any other vegetable you would like, such as mushrooms or zucchini, sliced, to give the sauce more flavor and texture.
Veronica Thompson: SHEPHERD'S PIE
-Serves 8-
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Ingredients:
- 1 bag baby redskin potatoes (about 3 lbs.)
- 18 oz. prepared beef gravy
- 2 lbs. hamburger, fried and crumbled
- 2 cans corn, drained
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 1 cup milk
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- Clean, quarter and boil potatoes (Do not remove potato skins.) until thoroughly cooked in large pot of water.
- Drain water and in same pot, mash potatoes with butter and milk.
- In a large casserole, spread fried, crumbled hamburger.
- Pour gravy over top of hamburger.
- Spread corn evenly over hamburger and gravy.
- Spread mashed potatoes on top.
- Heat in oven 45 mins
- Allow to cool 5 mins before serving.
Christina DeNooyer: TOMATO TART
-Serves 8 to 10-
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Taken from: William Sonoma Festive Entertaining Cookbook
Ingredients:
- 1 unbaked pie crust
- 3 large tomatoes, cut into and sliced ½ in. thick
- Salt to taste
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- ¼ lb. grayère cheese, cut into thin slices
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Ground pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Push out the seeds and watery juices from the tomato slices.
- Sprinkle the sliced tomatoes with salt and place in a large colander to drain for 30 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove the tomatoes from the colander and pat them dry.
- Using a rubber spatula spread the mustard evenly over the pastry shell. Sprinkle with the chopped mint.
- Top evenly with the cheese, then place the tomato slices over the cheese.
- In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and cream until blended. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the tomatoes.
- Bake until pale gold and the custard is set, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, let rest for 10 minutes, then slice into thin wedges and serve.
Taken from: William Sonoma Festive Entertaining Cookbook
Sara Kosuth: FETTUCCINE ALFREDO
-Serves 4-
Ingredients:
Instructions:
1. Start cooking the fettuccine.
2. While the fettuccine is cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan.
3. After the butter is melted, add the cream cheese and whisk together until it’s creamy.
4. Add about a 1/4 cup of milk at first and a handful of parmesan and whisk until the cheese is melted.
5. Taste the sauce and add either more Parmesan and/or milk until it tastes good and it’s a smooth and creamy consistency.
6. Add a dash of Italian season, mix it in and pour on top of the cooked fettuccine.
7. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb of fettuccine pasta
- 1 stick of butter
- 4 oz of cream cheese, in other words half of a block (stick with regular, not low-fat, it’s definitely worth the extra calories)
- A handful (or few) of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (NOT KRAFT BRAND)
- A small container of Vitamin D milk (a pint)
- Italian seasoning
Instructions:
1. Start cooking the fettuccine.
2. While the fettuccine is cooking, melt the butter in a small saucepan.
3. After the butter is melted, add the cream cheese and whisk together until it’s creamy.
4. Add about a 1/4 cup of milk at first and a handful of parmesan and whisk until the cheese is melted.
5. Taste the sauce and add either more Parmesan and/or milk until it tastes good and it’s a smooth and creamy consistency.
6. Add a dash of Italian season, mix it in and pour on top of the cooked fettuccine.
7. Enjoy!
Zak King: CALABACITAS BURRITOS
Soothe that craving for summery, squashy, south-of-the-border savor with these calabacitas (“little squashes”) from Serious Eats. Cooking them is a simple, one-pan affair and the final dish is an elegant and surprisingly hearty alternative to the ordinary burrito.
- serves 4 -
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large or 2 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and chopped into 1/2-inch chunks (about 2 cups)
- 1 large or 2 small yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and chopped into 1/2-inch chunks (about 2 cups)
- 1 poblano pepper or jalapeño, chopped
- 1 cup corn kernels (frozen
- 1 14.5-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 4 whole wheat burrito wraps
- Grated cheddar or cotija cheese
Instructions:
1. Heat oil over medium-high and cook onions for 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add zucchini and squash and cook another 4 minutes. Add poblano pepper and cook 8 to 10 more minutes. Add corn and cook until warmed, 2 minutes. Add black beans and cook until heated through and squash is tender enough for your taste, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste
2. Scoop calabacitas into burrito wrap, top with grated cheddar or cotija, and serve.
1. Heat oil over medium-high and cook onions for 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add zucchini and squash and cook another 4 minutes. Add poblano pepper and cook 8 to 10 more minutes. Add corn and cook until warmed, 2 minutes. Add black beans and cook until heated through and squash is tender enough for your taste, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste
2. Scoop calabacitas into burrito wrap, top with grated cheddar or cotija, and serve.
Arielle Isackson: SRI LANKAN DHAL
Ingredients:
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
- 4 dried red chilies
- 4 curry leaves
- 2 cups of dhal, washed and drained
- salt to taste
- 2 tablespoons of oil (can also be peanut butter oil)
- curry powder to taste
Instructions:
- Wash dhal
- Chop garlic and onions
- Add in mustard seeds to oil in a pan
- Add garlic and onions into the pan, cook until brownish
- add in the chilies and curry leaves and sauté
- Add dhal
- Add water (2.5 cups)
- Add some coconut milk
- Add curry powder
- Leave to boil
- Add rest of coconut milk
- after dhal is cooked add salt










