January Cooking Club Soiree!

"My Cooking Club Friends are the best Friends


Now let's get to drinking


Loyal, willing and able.


All glasses off the table!"

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Hello Cooking Divas!


Our theme for January was Soup and Salad and a little, no wait, make that a lot of champagne tasting.



Here are a few photos of our fabulous dishes!


Cheers to our newest member, Sheryl, (third from the left) next to Carrie in the light blue, and Susan in the white, who is next to Dana. I thought I should list our names since we have so many new ladies!


White bean soup

Betty & Lacie along with Betty's sister in law, Jane, on the left, who was in town visiting. It was nice to meet you Jane. Hope to see you next time you are here!

Split Pea Soup

Cinnamon toasts with a lingonberry creamcheese. A must at your next party. Both items available at Albertsons!

Mini chicken taco salads, ole!

Lemon N' Dill Shrimp Salad

Linda, Summer, Teresa & Chris.

7 bottles of champagne on the bar . 8, including the one getting polished off.

Butternut Squash and Curry soup

Chicken Taco soup.
Yeah, Toppings!

Fruity toot toot salad, if I remember the name correctly.

Me & Linda, minus Jodie.

Chicken, apple, grape, celery salad

Decadent Oatmeal Chocolate Bars.

And warm cherry cobbler cake with ice cream. Mmmmm

OK Ladies, I would love to make the above items, but I only received the recipe for the white bean soup (yes, I forgot too). So, let's all start bringing copies of our recipes for everyone. You won't be able to gain admittance without your recipes.

Remember to mark your calendars for February 22nd for our Presidential Cooking Club. We have a few more ladies who would love to join us. See you all then!

Cheers!

Shauna

Recipes

Chicken Taco Salad Bites / Summer
2 mini muffin pans
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
Cooked chicken (I used rotisserie)
1 wedge of cabbage
Black olives Tomatoes, finely chopped
Sour cream
Roasted red and yellow peppers
Pinch of salt
1 bunch chives

Preheat 375'Roll out thawed puff pastry and cut into squares to fit your mini muffin cups. Poke all over with a fork, then shape squares into cups in each mini muffin tin. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Check halfway through and if the dough is puffed, press out air with a small spoon so cups hold their shape. Once browned, cool on a wire rack. Mince chicken in a food processor, set aside. Mince cabbage, set aside. Mince olives, set aside. Blend together sour cream, roasted peppers and a pinch of salt, set aside. Once pastry cups are cooled, layer them with the chicken, cabbage, olives and tomatoes. Top with sour cream mixture and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.

* I'm not sure how much I used of each ingredient, but I got 16 mini pastry cups from one sheet of pastry.


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Lacie's Cherry Dump Cake
My grandma makes a similar dump cake with cherries and pineapple in the filling and she adds chopped nuts to the topping.

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (16.5 ounce) can pitted dark sweet cherries
Opt. /1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup butter
Opt. / 1/2 cup chopped nuts.
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dump pineapple (if using) and cherries into one 9x13 inch pan and mix together. Top with cake mix (then nuts if using) and sliced butter pats. Bake for 45 minutes or until brown and bubbling. Remove and serve warm or cold.
* Ice Cream or whipped cream make a great accompaniment.


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Teresa's Fruity Toot Toot Salad
Toss seasonal fruit with one container of whipped cream. Simple, refreshing and delicious.


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Parker's Split Pea Soup / Dana
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups medium-diced carrots (3 to 4 carrots)
1 cup medium-diced red boiling potatoes, unpeeled
(3 small) 1 pound dried split green peas
8 cups chicken stock or water
Directions:
In a 4-quart stockpot on medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until the onions are translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the carrots, potatoes, 1/2 pound of split peas, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Skim off the foam while cooking. Add the remaining split peas and continue to simmer for another 40 minutes, or until all the peas are soft. Stir frequently to keep the solids from burning on the bottom. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot.

* Dana's notes: I might change it up a little by adding diced ham or even better adding cut uncooked bacon while sauteing the onions and garlic. Will give the soup more fat, but also more flavor. You can never go wrong with bacon!!!! I had cooking club sprinkle sliced bacon pieces over the top to add flavor.



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Sour cream Shrimp N' Dill / Shauna

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar (less - I use about 1/8 cup but you can try more)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large red onion cut into rings
2 Tablespoons dry dill
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 pounds shrimp (bigger than bay)

Mix all together and refrigerate overnight.


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Chocolate Caramel Gooey Bars / Susan
(makes about 2 1/2 dozen bars)

Preheat oven to 350 f
2-1\3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi sweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup (12.25 oz. jar) caramel ice cream topping

Combine 2 cups flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter; stir until all ingredients are moistened. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture; press remaining mixture into bottom of ungreased 13x9 baking pan.

Bake in preheated 350 F oven for 15 min. or until lightly browned. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and walnuts. Combine caramel topping and remaining 1/3 cup flour in small bowl; drizzle over chocolate and walnuts. Sprinkle with remaining reserved crumb mixture. Return to oven; bake an additional 20 min. or until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

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Butternut Squash and Curry Soup / Chris

Recipe: Marguerite Henderson: Savor the Memories Cookbook