Peanut Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on)
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally
1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded
2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted


For the dressing:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Directions


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.


Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables.

Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Stawberry Perserves

Ingredients:(makes one small jar):
1.5 lbs Strawberries, washed, & hulled
2 Cups White Sugar
Juice of half Lemon


Preparation:
Wash and hull strawberries. Combine berries with sugar in a large stainless steel/non reactive bowl; let stand for 3 to 4 hours.
Bring strawberries to a boil slowly, for about 6-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice. Cook rapidly till it comes to a full boil, & then reduce heat to medium & gently boil until until strawberry mixture is clear/glassy and mixture is thick & mounds on a spoon, about 15-20 minutes.
Store in air tight container in freezer for up to 3 months.

Magnolia's Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd

Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Buttercream

Ingredients
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 c. sugar
4 large eggs, at room temp.
1 1/2 c. self-rising flour
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon zest

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease and lightly flour three 9x2 inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed or
parchment paper.
In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth.
Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Combine the flours and add in four parts, alternating with the milk an dthe lemon juice and
zest, beating well after each addition.
Divide the cake batter among the cake pans.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out
clean.
Let the cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire
rack.
When cake has cooled, spread the icing and lemon curd evenly between the layers and over the top of the cake.

Lemon Curd Recipe:
3 large eggs
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)
1 tablespoon (4 grams) finely shredded lemon zest
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Lemon Curd Directions:

In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C). This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week.
Makes 1 1/2 cups (360 ml).

Note: If you want a lighter lemon curd whip 1/2 cup (120 ml) of heavy whipping cream and fold into the lemon curd.

Lemon Buttercream

Ingredients:
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very soft
8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 c. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest

Directions:
Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar and then the juice and the zest.
Beat until smooth and creamy.
Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until the icing is thick enough to be of
good, spreadable consistency.
If desired, add a few drops of yellow food coloring and mix thoroughly.
Use and store at room temperature.

Kingsville Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake:

1 1/2 C Oil

2 C Sugar

3 Eggs

2 1/4 C Flour

2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Nutmeg

2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Salt

2 C Shredded Carrots

2 C Flake Coconut

1 C Chopped Walnuts or Pecans

12 oz. Can of Crushed Pineapple, drained

2 tsp. Vanilla

Combine ingrediants in order given. Bake at 350 for about an hour. Cool Completely on wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 C Butter, softened
8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened

4 C Confectioners Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla, scrape bowl, add sugar 1 cup at a time, beat until smooth.

Rasberry White Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Shortbreads:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 package Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:
1/4 - 1/2 cup of raspberry jam
2 ounces white chocolate

Shortbreads:

In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch (1 cm) thick. Using a 2 to 3 inch (5 to 7.5 cm) cookie cutter (round, square, heart, etc.) cut out the dough. Place the cookies about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a smaller cookie cutter (3/4 - 1 inch (2.5 cm)) to cut out the centers of half of the cookies on the baking sheet. (You will be sandwiching two cookies together and there will be a small 'window or cut out' in the top cookie so you can see the jam underneath.) Place the unbaked cookies, on the baking sheet, in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

To Assemble Cookies:

Place the cookies with the cut-outs on a wire rack and dust the tops with the confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar.

On the bottom surface of the full cookie (top of cookie will face out) spread with about a 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon of jam. Sprinkle with a little grated white chocolate. Place the cut-out cookie on top and gently sandwich them together, making sure not to smug the confectioners' sugar. Using a small spoon, fill the cut-out with a little more jam.

Makes about 12 sandwich cookies.

Note: You can store the unassembled cookies for several days in an airtight container. It is best, though, to assemble the cookies the same day as serving in order to keep the cookies crisp.

Bailey's Irish Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. butter

1 /2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. Bailey's original Irish cream
2 1/4 c. cake flour

1 package Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (6 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 c. coconut
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Cream butter, sugars and egg until fluffy. Add vanilla and Bailey's Irish cream. Mix dry ingredients and blend into creamed mixture. Add coconut, nuts and chips. Drop onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool.