Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

1 pound medium fresh mushrooms
4 bacon slices, diced
1/2 cup minced onion, or use part green onion
2 Tablespoons minced fresh green pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs, plain
1/4 cup hot water

Preparation

1. Clean mushrooms, remove and chop stems; set aside.

2. Fry bacon in a heavy skillet. Remove with a slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain. In bacon drippings, saute onion, green pepper and chopped mushroom stems until tender; drain. Add salt and pepper.

3. Soften cream cheese; blend in cooled bacon and vegetables. Press mixture into mushroom camps, mounding a bit. Turn filled mushroom caps upside down and press gently in the bread crumbs to coat tops. Place in a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking dish. Add hot water to pan and bake, uncovered 20 to 25 minutes at 325 degrees.

Roast Pork Loin with Crumb Crust

1 (4 1/2-lb) boneless pork loin, trimmed
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons coarse-grained Dijon mustard

Preparation

1. Sprinkle pork loin with salt and pepper. Place pork loin on an aluminum foil-lined broiler pan.

2. Stir together breadcrumbs and next 4 ingredients; press breadcrumb mixture onto top of pork loin.

3. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes; cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest portion registers 155. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

(From Southern Living)

Sweet Tea-Brined Chicken

2 family-size tea bags
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 lemon, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, halved
2 (6-inch) fresh rosemary sprigs
1 tablespoon freshly cracked pepper
2 cups ice cubes
1 (3 1/2- to 4-lb.) cut-up whole chicken

Preparation

1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a 3-qt. heavy saucepan; add tea bags. Remove from heat; cover and steep 10 minutes.

2. Discard tea bags. Stir in sugar and next 6 ingredients, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cool completely (about 45 minutes); stir in ice. (Mixture should be cold before adding chicken.)

3. Place tea mixture and chicken in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag; seal. Place bag in a shallow baking dish and chill 24 hours. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade; pat chicken dry with paper towels.

4. Light one side of grill, heating to 300° to 350° (medium) heat; leave other side unlit. Place chicken, skin side down, over unlit side, and grill, covered with grill lid, 20 minutes. Turn chicken, and grill, covered with grill lid, 40 to 50 minutes or until done. Transfer chicken, skin side down, to lit side of grill, and grill 2 to 3 minutes or until skin is crispy. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

(From Southern Living)

Italian Beef

4 lb. chuck roast or top round roast
1 (o.6 oz) packet Good Seasons Zesty Italian salad dressing mix
1 envelope Lipton dry onion soup mix
1 (14 oz.) can beef consomme or broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP vinegar
5 pepperoncini peppers (can be found in pickle section of grocery store)

Place meat and all other ingredients in a 5-quart crockpot or slow cooker. (I like to brown the meat in a oiled skillet first.) Cook on HIGH for 7 hours or until meat falls apart. Break meat apart further using two forks. Cook for one more hour. Remove meat from cooker with a slotted spoon. Reserve any liquid as au jus. Serve on hard rolls.

Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

• 4 1/4 to 4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup mashed, cooked potato*
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• Cream Cheese Icing

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan, heat and stir milk, mashed potato, the 1/3 cup butter, the granulated sugar, and salt just until warm (120°F to 130°F) and butter almost melts; add to flour mixture along with the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease surface of dough. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (45 to 60 minutes).

Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease a foil roasting pan; set aside. For filling, in a bowl, stir together brown sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

Roll dough into an 18x12-inch rectangle. Spread the 1/4 cup butter over dough and sprinkle with filling, leaving 1 inch unfilled along one of the long sides. Roll up rectangle, starting from the filled long side. Pinch dough to seal seams. Slice rolled rectangle into 12 equal pieces. Arrange in prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (about 30 minutes).

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes; drizzle with Cream Cheese Icing; cool completely.

Cream Cheese Icing:In a mixing bowl, beat one 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened; 2 tablespoons softened butter; and 1 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Gradually beat in 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to reach spreading consistency.

*Mashed cooked potato: Prick a 10-ounce unpeeled potato all over with a fork. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Halve potato and scoop pulp out of skin into a bowl; discard skin. Mash the potato pulp with a potato masher or an electric mixer on low speed. Measure 1 cup of mashed potato.

Make-Ahead Directions: Prepare as above through Step 4, except do not let rise after shaping. Cover loosely with oiled waxed paper, then with plastic wrap. Chill for 2 to 24 hours. Before baking, let chilled rolls stand, covered, for 30 minutes at room temperature. Uncover and bake as directed.

Spicy Pork Ribs

3/4 cup Harissa Paste
3 TBSP fresh Lemon Juice
1 TBSP minced Garlic
2 slabs Baby Back Ribs (about 1 1/2 lbs each)
Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
2 bottles (12 oz each) Budweiser

In a small bowl, stir together the harissa paste, lemon juice and garlic. Set aside.



Rinse the ribs and pat dry with paper towels. Using a dull butter knife, loosen the thin papery membrane that runs along the underside of the ribs, then pull it off with your fingers (or with a paper towel). Rub the ribs generously on both sides with salt and pepper, then slather all over with the harissa mixture. Wrap the ribs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

Ribs can either be smoked or grilled. For grilling prepare the grill for indirect heat grilling. First you will want to oil the grill rack. For smoking you will also want to oil the grill rack as well. Also for smoking use the beer in the water pan, pour in both bottles and then fill the rest of the way with water.

Place the ribs bone side down on the grill. If grilling you will want to baste every 10 minutes with the beer on both sides until the ribs are tender and cooked through. For smoking you just put them in and leave them until they are tender and cooked through. (We made these ribs by smoking.)

(Harissa paste was rather difficult to find, but I ended up finding it at Dean and DeLuca)

French Onion Soup

1 lb. 6 oz. peeled Onions
3 oz. Butter
1 tsp. freshly ground or cafe ground Pepper
1 tbsp. Spanish Paprika
2 Bay Leaves
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 c. All-purpose Flour
1 1/2 qt. Beef Bouillon (from cubes or canned) (I used 1/2 beef broth 1/2 chicken broth)

Cut onions in half and slice with the grain about 1/8" thick. Melt butter and add sliced onions. Saute slowly for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Add paprika, pepper, bay leaves and flour. Mix well, keeping flame low. Stir while cooking for 5 minutes.

Gradually add hot bouillon while stirring, preferably with a wooden spoon. Simmer soup, covered, for at least 30 minutes.

If a rich brown color is desired, add caramel coloring. Taste soup and season with salt. Yield: 2 quarts.

Serving Suggestion: Heat soup and fill oven-proof casserole or individual oven proof crocks with 8 ounces of soup. Top with thin slices of French bread and cover each serving with 1 1/2 ounces of grated Swiss cheese (Emmenthaler or Gruyere preferred). Place under broiler and melt cheese until golden brown. (I used Mozzarella and Provolone cheese and they both worked fine as well.)

(From Kate Beem)